No fewer than four traders were feared killed on Monday when gunmen ambushed a group of six shoe sellers travelling from Gangare in Jos to Pankshin local government council for business.

It was gathered that the victims were attacked by the gunmen before reaching Mangu Hale in Mangu local government.

The killing of the traders raised tensions within Jos and its environs, leading to the deployment of security personnel to restore order.

An official of the Traders and Marketers Association, Jos Main Market branch, Suleiman Abubakar, confirmed the incident, stating that the victims were intercepted at gunpoint.

“Four out of the six traders from Gangare, Jos, going to Pankshin were attacked and killed. Two of them escaped, and we have spoken with them,” Abubakar said.

This development created tension around the Ganagre community in Jos after the news broke out.

The spokesman of the Operation Enduring Peace (OPEP), Captain Polycarp Oteh, could not confirm it as his line was busy.

In other news, 10 people were killed in fresh attacks in Barkin Ladi and Riyom local government areas of Plateau State by unidentified bandits on Sunday night.

The attacks left several people seriously injured, and they are currently receiving treatment in various nearby hospitals.

The Berom Youth Moulders Association (BYM), under the leadership of Dalyop Solomon Mwantiri, condemned the attacks and expressed deep concern about the recurring cycle of official investigations that yield no tangible arrests or prosecutions.

Mwantiri said this on Monday, warning that the continued failure to bring perpetrators to justice has emboldened armed attackers, resulting in repeated assaults on innocent farming communities, destruction of livelihoods and loss of life across Plateau State and the Middle Belt.

He said those 10 people were gruesomely killed on Sunday night at Ratatis, Dorowa Babuje, in Barkin Ladi, when gunmen attacked the community at about 7:27 pm.

The association called for the urgent deployment of adequate security personnel to vulnerable communities, particularly in the Barkin Ladi and Riyom councils, to prevent further bloodshed.

BYM called on the Federal and Plateau State governments to move beyond routine assurances and take decisive action by identifying, arresting and prosecuting those responsible.

Meanwhile, youths in Barkin Ladi blocked the highway leading to Jos and other local governments on Monday to protest the killing of community members by gunmen who attacked the area on Sunday night.

The youths, joined by women and other sympathisers, vowed not to vacate the road until the perpetrators of the attack were apprehended and punished according to the law.

One of the protesting youths, Samson Godiya, lamenting the situation, said, “We have suffered as a community for too long at the hands of these attackers. For how long shall we continue to be killed without anything being done to stop them?”

“We cannot continue like this. We are tired of promises from the government and security agents to protect us. If they cannot live up to their promises, they should leave us alone. A situation in which the security forces are present yet cannot stop the killers from having their way is what we cannot understand.”

A community leader, Rwang Tengwong, also confirmed that 10 people were killed by the gunmen. “Yesterday, we recovered seven dead bodies of our members, but this morning, two more dead bodies of community members were recovered from Dorowa Babuje, while another person was shot dead in Jol, Riyom local government council of the state, making a total of 10 people killed,” he said.

Following the youths’ action, motorists on the Shendam and Langtang axes have been stopped from moving to Jos, while those from Jos are waiting to be allowed to move.

However, armed police were later drafted to the scene, where they pleaded with the protesting youths to clear the roads, a request reluctantly obeyed.

No official statement has been issued by either the police or the government at the time of filing the report.