The Plateau State Police Command has confirmed the killing of at least 11 people with scores of others injured and rendered homeless after gunmen went on the rampage in the Rubi community of Butura District in Bokkos Local Government Area on Thursday night.
Spokesman for the Command, Alfred Alabo, who made the confirmation in a statement on Friday in Jos, said the State Police Commissioner, Emmanuel Adesina, had visited the scene of the attack and has vowed to bring the perpetrators to book.
“On March 27, at about 10:00 p.m., we received a report of some gunmen who invaded Ruwi village at about 09:20 p.m. and began to shoot sporadically,” Alabo said in the statement.
“As a result, some law-abiding citizens of the community who were at a wake-keep unfortunately lost their lives. Many others secured varying degrees of injuries.
“Immediately, the Commissioner of Police directed the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Bokkos to mobilise to the scene for necessary action,” he added.
According to residents of the Butura community, the gunmen launched a deadly attack on some people who were mourning the death of a relative.
The mourners were said to have gathered at the deceased family house in the community for a service of song when the gunmen attacked them.
The residents said the victims were mostly women, with seven being brutally clubbed to death with machetes while three men were among those killed in the heartless attack.
While speaking to journalists on the attack, Chairman of the Community Peace Observers in Bokkos LGA, Mr. Kefas Mallai, stated that the perpetrators took advantage of the mourners’ gathering to carry out the heinous act, noting that security personnel were alerted to the attack, but unfortunately, they arrived after the perpetrators had fled the scene.
“Yes, it is true. It was around 10 pm on Thursday night, March 27, 2025, at Ruwi community in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau state.
“The victims were mostly women. Seven women were clubbed to death with machetes. Three men were killed, too, with two other women injured because many of them were women.
“They came to mourn their loved one that died a natural death. So, they were just there as is our tradition which demands that they would gather at the deceased family house and many of them would sleep over till the next day and even three days especially relatives just to keep the deceased family company.
“So that was the situation, and the enemies took advantage of that and came in the night and slaughtered the mourners around 10 pm. I learnt the perpetrators were killer Fulani herders.
“When the attack was taking place, I learnt security men were called to the village, but before they could arrive at the place, the killers had finished their evil act and fled the scene.
“But as it is now, there is no any retaliation from the community and even the Bokkos town is calm but if you go the affected community, that is where you will see crowd that has gathered, bemoaning the calamity that has befallen the people ”
“So at the moment, the community is currently in a state of shock and mourning, with many gathering at the affected community to bemoan the calamity,” Mallai said.
The Plateau State government has also condemned the incident and called on security agencies to fish out the perpetrators.
Commissioner for Information, Mrs Joyce Ramnap, who spoke on the incident, called on residents of the community not to take the law into their hands.
Ramnap reiterated the state government’s commitment to security of lives and property of all citizens of the state.
