Armed men stormed Kawel village in Mushere District, Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, in the early hours of Sunday, June 22, 2026, killing at least 22 people.

The victims included civilians, health workers on duty at the community’s Primary Health Care Centre, patients receiving treatment, and security personnel.

Bokkos Youth Leader Christopher Luka confirmed the figure after visiting the hospital himself on Monday.

“I visited the hospital and saw the situation myself. So far, 22 deaths have been recorded, including women. The victims are yet to be buried because of the rainfall experienced since morning. The victims included health workers serving at the hospital and some patients who were receiving treatment,” he said.

The Plateau State Police Command placed the time of the attack at approximately 04:40am on Sunday, June 22, when armed men described as “hoodlums” invaded the community.

Resident Malo Bitrus said the gunmen arrived around 11:40pm and opened fire indiscriminately, forcing people into nearby bushes for safety.

The discrepancy in timing reflects the chaos that unfolded overnight, with community leaders and police piecing together events across several hours.

Police Commissioner Bassey Ewah immediately directed the Divisional Police Officer in Bokkos to mobilise personnel to the scene.

Operatives working with the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU) and other security agencies engaged the attackers in a gun battle, forcing them to retreat.

Despite that response, the Chairman of the Community Peace Observers in Bokkos LGA, Kefas Mallai, alleged that security operatives did not arrive on time and that attackers had been operating from nearby occupied communities.

A Community Already Reeling From Recent Violence

The attack did not come in a vacuum. Less than five days earlier, the District Head of Gwande in Bokkos LGA, Saf Samuel Alaket, was reportedly killed along the Sha District axis bordering the Daffo community while returning from a traditional council meeting.

Bokkos has now become one of the most violently targeted districts in Plateau State, with communities repeatedly attacked despite the presence of security personnel in the area.

Following the latest attack, Commissioner Ewah directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations and the Area Commander in Pankshin LGA to temporarily relocate to the affected area to coordinate security operations on the ground.

Additional tactical teams and Police Mobile Force personnel were also deployed to de-escalate tensions and launch a manhunt for the perpetrators.

The Plateau State Government responded on Monday through a statement signed by Commissioner for Information and Communication, Joyce Lohya Ramnap.

“Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang has directed security agencies to intensify operations in the affected area, apprehend the perpetrators and ensure they are brought to justice,” the statement read.

The government also warned residents firmly against reprisal attacks, saying justice would be pursued through lawful and constitutional means only.

Ondo Kidnappings and the Ibadan Protests

While Plateau counted its dead, fresh violence struck Owo, Ondo State, on the same night. Six gunmen invaded the home of community chairman Pastor Taiwo Taiwo around 7pm in an apparent abduction attempt.

A police patrol team responded, engaged the suspects in a gun battle, and the attackers fled — leaving the pastor and his family unharmed.

Hours later, around 11:30pm, suspected kidnappers entered a home in Gbegun community off Alhaja Camp, Housing Estate, Owo. They shot 39-year-old Daniel Ologun in the left leg before abducting his wife, Taibat, 34, and their two children, aged four and two.

A joint operation by police and Nigerian Army personnel combed the surrounding forests through the night. By 1:50am on Monday, Mrs Ologun and her children were rescued unharmed — their abductors, allegedly wounded in the gun battle, had abandoned them and fled.

Ologun is currently receiving treatment at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo.

Meanwhile, hundreds of demonstrators brought parts of Ibadan to a standstill on Monday, blocking the busy Iwo Road interchange from around 10am.

The protest was led by the Take It Back Movement, a human rights organisation, whose national coordinator, Juwon Sanyaolu, called the action a continuation of their campaign since the May 15, 2026, abduction of over 39 pupils, students, and seven teachers from three schools in Esiele, Oriire LGA, Oyo State.

“We will continue to protest for the release of all abducted victims until they are free. We believe government officials are in the comfort of their rooms and offices while innocent students and their teachers are languishing in the kidnappers’ den,” Sanyaolu told the crowd.

Police Promise Freedom for Oyo Schoolchildren

On that front, the South-West Coordinating Deputy Inspector General of Police, DIG Adegoke Fayoade, offered an assurance during an official visit to the Lagos State Police Command headquarters in Ikeja on Monday.

“The update is that all agencies of government are working very hard. And I can assure you that within the shortest possible time, the children and their teachers will be free,” he said.

Pressed on reports that the abductors had shifted their demands from releasing commanders to requesting ransom and the release of foot soldiers, Fayoade was direct.

“We don’t know anything about ransom because we don’t talk about ransom. So, all efforts are directed towards getting the abductees free from the capture,” he said.

Elsewhere, Catholic Bishops of the Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province, led by President Most Rev. Gabriel Leke Abegunrin and Secretary Most Rev. Anselm Lawani, issued a sharp rebuke of the federal government’s policy of reintegrating alleged repentant terrorists into society and security structures.

“The ongoing reintegration of so-called repentant bandits into the security agencies and society, while treating victims of crime and their relatives with neglect or outright disdain, rubs dirt on the face of justice,” their statement read.

The bishops also called for the creation of state police, better intelligence infrastructure, and technology-driven policing to address what they described as a failing national security architecture.

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