In yet another wave of bloodshed ravaging Nigeria’s Middle Belt, suspected armed herdsmen stormed Plateau State on Thursday, unleashing terror on two communities—Juwan in Bokkos Local Government Area and Manja in Mangu Local Government Area—leaving no fewer than 13 innocent people dead, many of them children and the elderly. Dozens of homes were also set ablaze in a chilling attack that has left the region gripped by fear and mourning.
The deadly assault on Juwan community, located in the Tangur District of Bokkos LGA, occurred under the cover of nightfall. According to local authorities, ten people were butchered in cold blood, while several others sustained life-threatening injuries. Survivors described scenes of unspeakable horror, with the attackers reportedly going from house to house, executing helpless residents.
In a heart-wrenching account, Bokkos Local Government Council Chairman, Amalau Samuel, confirmed the massacre, calling it a “barbaric and inhuman act of terror.”
> “The attackers came late at night and began slaughtering innocent people,” Samuel lamented. “They broke into homes through ceilings when they couldn’t get through the doors. Most of the victims were children and elderly people who couldn’t flee. The agile ones escaped into the bush.”
Meanwhile, in Manja village, Chafem Chiefdom of Mangu LGA, three farmers were ambushed and murdered while working on their land that same evening. The peaceful farming activity turned into a bloodbath as the victims were taken unawares by the armed assailants.
Security operatives swiftly responded to a distress call, managing to repel the attackers before more lives were lost. However, the community was not spared from destruction. The invaders returned hours later and burned down over twenty houses, rendering dozens of families homeless.
Mathew Kwarpo, the lawmaker representing Mangu South in the Plateau State House of Assembly, expressed deep concern over the renewed violence, calling for urgent intervention by the state and federal governments.
> “The people had to flee to stay alive. These attacks are becoming far too frequent,” Kwarpo said. “Every time a threat is issued, it’s carried out. This is a calculated attempt to displace our people and take over our ancestral lands. The security agencies are doing their best, but they’re being overwhelmed. We urgently need President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to step in.”
Communities in Bokkos, Bassa, and Mangu have, in recent months, come under sustained attacks by suspected armed herders, resulting in a mounting death toll and widespread destruction of property. Thousands have been displaced, many living in makeshift camps under dire conditions.
This latest bloodletting has once again cast a harsh spotlight on the fragile security architecture in Nigeria’s hinterlands, where rural communities remain at the mercy of well-armed militias and bandits, often operating with impunity.
As Plateau State buries its dead and counts its losses, residents are left wondering how many more lives must be lost before meaningful action is taken to protect them and end the reign of terror consuming their once-peaceful homesteads.
PIONEER NEWS 