Demonstrating remarkable resilience, a community in Plateau State, North-Central Nigeria, effectively thwarted assailants in a Wednesday attempted attack.
The focus of the incident was Butura village in the Bokkos Local Government Area, the same location where, during the Christmas Eve period in 2023, attackers had brutally killed over 150 individuals.
Reportedly riding on motorcycles, the gunmen faced staunch resistance from a community-established militant group, as per information shared in a Citizens Observer tweet. However, the Plateau State Police Command contradicted this assertion, claiming that it was their personnel who successfully repelled the attack.
The Citizens Observer tweet, posted as the world’s attention focused on the #bomb explosion in Ibadan, detailed the terrorists’ attempted assault on Butura, the village where they had previously killed over 150 Christians on Christmas Eve. According to the tweet, the locals provided a formidable resistance.
The tweet urged residents of the Middle Belt to arm themselves in defense of their land, emphasizing the importance of collective action against terrorist activities. It called on communities to identify and dismantle terrorist hideouts within their localities.
Contrary to the community’s claim, the Plateau State Police Command clarified in a statement to SaharaReporters that it was the police, not the locals, who repelled the bandits. Alfred Alabo, the spokesperson for the Plateau State Police Command, explained, “Yes, there was a little disturbance there which our men repelled dutifully.
But we’re still gathering some facts; we want to do that before approaching the media so that we don’t give them wrong information. There’s a lot of fake information going on there.”
The incident follows a coordinated series of attacks on Christmas Eve in parts of Bokkos and Barkin Ladi LGAs, where gunmen killed over 150 persons and wreaked havoc in several communities. The latest resistance by the community reflects a growing determination to protect their land against such violent incursions.
