Troops of Operation Enduring Peace, working alongside the police and other security operatives, have arrested seven suspects over the killing of residents and the rustling of cattle in Bong/Kook village, Qua’an-Pan Local Government Area of Plateau State.
A report by security analyst and counter-insurgency expert, Zagazola Makama, disclosed that the suspects, all indigenes of Plateau State, were apprehended on Jan. 4 at about 9:30 p.m. after actionable intelligence was received.
According to sources, the arrests were made at Namu as the suspects were travelling toward Nasarawa State. The operation was carried out by a joint team comprising police officers, personnel of Operation Enduring Peace and local hunters.
“The suspects arrested include both the masterminds and those who directly participated in the attack and killing at Kook village,” the sources said.
The attack occurred in the early hours of Jan. 2 when armed men stormed Bong/Kook village in Doemak District, rustled some cows and shot dead residents during the operation.
Earlier, the Plateau State Police Command confirmed that no fewer than seven persons were killed and several others sustained injuries during the invasion. The command also stated that two of the attackers were neutralised during a hot pursuit by security forces.
Sources further revealed that a combined team of soldiers, police operatives, personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and vigilantes chased the assailants, who allegedly shot residents in order to escape before abandoning the stolen cattle.
Security agencies clarified that preliminary findings pointed to criminal gangs involved in cattle rustling, stressing that the incident was not motivated by ethnic or religious factors.
They added that the rustled cows had been recovered and that security presence had been reinforced across the area to forestall further attacks.
According to the agencies, efforts were ongoing to apprehend other fleeing suspects and to recover weapons used during the attack.
Makama noted that the arrest of seven suspects linked to the killings received limited public attention, which he attributed to what he described as selective narratives in reporting and advocacy on violence in the state.
He recalled that the deadly attack drew unusually low publicity and muted reactions because the perpetrators were locals rather than Fulani bandits. As a result, the incident failed to generate the level of outrage, media focus and international attention often associated with similar killings in Plateau State.
“The attack did not fit into the familiar ethnic or religious framing that usually drives strong reactions. The assailants were identified as Plateau indigenes, and the victims were neither Fulani nor linked to pastoral communities,” Makama said.
