Residents in Angwan Rukuba, a community in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State, have shared harrowing accounts of a recent attack that left many dead and others injured. The attackers, disguised as customers, stormed a local beer parlour on Sunday evening, blending in with other patrons before suddenly opening fire. This sudden and brutal assault has left residents shaken, with multiple eyewitnesses recounting the chaos that ensued.
The attackers arrived at the beer parlour around 8 p.m., when visibility was low, and began shooting without provocation. According to eyewitnesses, the gunmen moved through a nearby path, shooting anyone they saw, and eventually fled through a route leading toward a hilly area around Mazahills.
A separate account by Leman Francis, a senior lecturer at the University of Jos, corroborated the sequence of events. He stated that the attackers arrived in a vehicle and began shooting sporadically without any fight or provocation. The University of Jos has postponed examinations scheduled for Monday and Tuesday due to the security situation and tension around Angwan Rukuba.
The Plateau State Government's failure to prevent this attack and its subsequent inability to provide a clear response to the incident raises serious questions about its commitment to protecting its citizens. The imposition of a 48-hour curfew in Jos North may have been a belated attempt to restore order, but it does little to address the underlying issues driving this violence. The fact that the attackers were able to blend in with customers and carry out their assault without being detected highlights the need for more effective security measures in the area. As residents continue to live in fear, the government must take concrete steps to ensure their safety and security.
