High-Level Government and Military Delegation Arrives in Jos to Assess Christmas Day Attacks
High-Level Government and Military Delegation Arrives in Jos to Assess Christmas Day Attacks
By Matthew Eloyi
In response to the recent spate of violence in Plateau State, a high-profile delegation comprising Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Taoreed Lagbaja; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Hassan Abubakar; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla; Minister of State for Defence, Bello Muhammed Matawalle; and Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Dr. Betta Edu, has landed in Jos.
The officials are set to visit the areas of Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi, where brutal attacks by bandits on Christmas Day claimed the lives of over 100 people.
A video shared on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) by Channels TV captures the moment the security chiefs and ministers disembarked from a presidential jet upon their arrival.
This visit follows a summons from the Senate, prompted by a motion of urgent importance presented by Senator Diket Plang (APC, Plateau Central).
The Senate had summoned not only the military heads—Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff, and Chief of Naval Staff—but also the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Yusuf Bichi, and the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.
The assailants targeted several villages, including Ndun, Ngyong, Murfet, Makundary, Tamiso, Chiang, Tahore, Gawarba, Dares, Meyenga, Darwat, and Butura Kampani, in the Barkin Ladi, Mangu, and Bokkos areas of Plateau State. They set houses ablaze and mercilessly shot residents.
The day following the attacks, the Chairman of Community Peace Observers in the Bokkos Local Government Area, Mallaig, told newsmen that the death toll had risen to over 150, with more than 10,000 people displaced in the LGA alone.
Expressing condemnation for the attacks, President Bola Tinubu has ordered a manhunt for the perpetrators. Vice President Kashim Shettima, during his visit to the affected communities, reassured residents that the government would tirelessly pursue justice for the victims, vowing not to rest until the perpetrators were brought to book.
