Absence of defense counsel delays arraignment of four suspects in Plateau killings

The arraignment of four suspects charged in connection with a recent gunmen attack in the Angwa Rukuba Community, Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State, was delayed on Thursday due to the absence of defense counsel. The suspects appeared before Court 12 of the Plateau State High Court in Jos but requested an adjournment to contact their lawyers. The killings, which occurred on March 28, left over 30 people dead, including children, after suspected attackers invaded communities in Bokkos and Bassa Local Government Areas. The Plateau State Government filed charges against the suspects over the March 2026 killings in Angwa Rukuba. The government stated that the Department of State Services arrested the suspects between April 3 and April 10, 2026, and charged them with offenses including criminal conspiracy to commit terrorism. The four suspects are Isa Umar Ibrahim, Auwalu Abubakar also known as Auwalu Dogo, Musa Abubakar Ibrahim also known as Yaroro, and a fourth defendant. According to the charge filed by State Attorney General Philemon Daffi, the defendants conspired to commit terrorism by planning, organizing, facilitating, aiding, and contributing money to carry out the Angwan Rukuba attack, which resulted in over thirty deaths. Following the killings, Governor Caleb Mutfwang condemned the attacks, describing them as attempts to destabilize the state and labeling them as genocide. President Bola Tinubu visited the state earlier this month, met with victims, and a