According to a report by the Punch on Saturday, March 14, 2026, the uncle of a 26-year-old trader, Uwaisu Sunusi, has narrated how his nephew and three other passengers were allegedly killed by armed men while travelling to a market in Plateau State.
Speaking about the incident, Yusuf Falke said the victims were attacked on Monday, February 23, 2026, along the Barikin Ladi bypass while heading to the weekly market in Panshin for their normal trading activities.
According to him, the victims regularly travelled to the market every Monday to sell items such as spaghetti, salt and shoes. On the day of the incident, they were four passengers inside a vehicle when they encountered trouble along the road.
Falke explained that the main road had been blocked at Dorowa Babuji, a district in Barikin Ladi, forcing their driver to divert through a bypass route. While travelling along that road, they began noticing several armed men moving around the area.
When their vehicle approached what appeared to be an improvised checkpoint, the attackers began stopping vehicles and questioning occupants about their identities. Falke recalled that the armed group had allowed the vehicles ahead of them to pass after brief questioning.
However, when it was their turn, the situation quickly turned violent.
Describing what happened, Falke said, “the armed men asked them who they were, and one of them said, ‘We are Hausa.’”
According to him, the attackers immediately seized the passengers’ phones and opened fire, shooting Uwaisu in the stomach before dragging the other victims out of the vehicle.
He added that while the attackers were carrying out the assault, another passenger in the front seat urged the driver to escape. The driver and two other passengers managed to flee the scene during the confusion.
Falke said he later received a call from one of the survivors who informed him about the attack. When he tried calling his nephew’s phone, one of the gunmen allegedly answered and informed him that Uwaisu had already been killed.
In search of the bodies, Falke and other family members later contacted security personnel and were directed to the area where the attack took place. With the support of soldiers and local authorities, they began searching for the victims.
He said they initially found only blood stains on the road which led into nearby bushes, forcing them to trek for several hours while looking for the bodies.
Eventually, the remains of the victims were discovered inside a ditch deep in the bush.
Falke explained that the bodies had been burnt, leaving behind only partially charred remains with visible gunshot wounds. The remains were later gathered and taken back to the community.
Due to rising tension and fears of possible retaliation, community leaders and government officials decided that the victims should be buried quickly after prayers at a nearby cemetery.
Falke said identifying the bodies was painful but possible because some parts of the victims’ faces were not completely burnt.
He noted that Uwaisu was easily recognised by family members because they had lived closely with him since childhood.
The deceased, who was the eldest child and only son among his siblings, had reportedly been supporting his mother and grandmother before his death.
Falke described the loss as devastating for the family, especially for Uwaisu’s mother, who has struggled to cope since the incident.
Despite the grief, he said the family was not seeking revenge but wanted authorities to ensure that those responsible for the attack were arrested and prosecuted. Read_More…