READ ALSO: Like Benue, Like Plateau

While narrating her ordeal to LEADERSHIP Weekend, she appealed to the federal government to deploy Mobile Police Force to the affected areas to flush out the gunmen from their communities.

Still in shock, Mai’Angwan said he was told that army uniforms were not sold in the open market and asked how the militiamen got the army camouflage fatigues they wore.

He said, “If the federal government has no hand in what is happening to us, they should do the needful by protecting us. In fact, on that day, bullets were flying everywhere.”

Forty-four-old farmer Sunday Gudu said he lost two children and six other extended family members in the attack

Gudu claimed that throughout the period that the attack lasted, the militiamen had a field day as there were no security operatives in his community.

He appealed to the federal government to stop the senseless killings in Plateau, Benue, and other states of the federation, stressing that without the people there cannot be governance.

The attacks were launched on communities in Bokkos and Bassa local government areas where 150 residents and property worth millions of naira were destroyed.

The attack on Zike Kimakpa community of Irigwe chiefdom of Bassa Local Government Area was carried out at midnight of April 13, 2025.

Barely two weeks later, a similar incident was simultaneously launched on five communities in Bokkos LGA of Plateau state .

On what to do next, Mwa said, “We have been calling on federal and state governments to stop these killings but till now nothing has been done.

“We cannot leave our ancestral homes for them (killers) because this is our inheritance. I am calling on governments at all levels to intervene. As it is right now, I am only left with my working stick,” he said.

For Mrs. Wiki Kaja, a housewifer who lost 10 members of her family, consisting of her husband, mother-in-law, and her husband’s siblings, the federal government should deploy Mobile Police Force units to the affected areas to chase out the bandits from the communities.

Irigwe, MACBAN Leaders Differ On Allegations Against Fulani Herders

Meanwhile, leaders of community associations have told LEADERSHIP Weekend that over 500 members of their communities have been killed from December 2023 till date.

The national president of Irigwe Development Association (IDA), Dr. Daniel Gya, said from 2023 till date, 146 persons were killed at Irigwe land.

He said the killings started in 2001, adding that from 2016 to 2023, they have lost about 1,014 persons.

He added that during the period, several communities were destroyed while many of the residents were displaced.

Gya further claimed that from 2001 to 2025, 21,224 homes were burnt while 21, 876 farms and 212 barns were destroyed in the area.

He, however, said there were no internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps on Irigwe land, stressing that when such attacks happen, whole villages were wiped out while the victims relocated and reintegrated among their relations in other areas.

“They live in the homes of their relatives. In fact, it is not even safe for us to put our people in IDP camps because they are not safe there. People are rather reintegrated in the homes of their loved ones.

He accused the federal government of not living up to expectations.

“How can from 2001 till date, 1, 176 people be killed just like that? Does this show that the federal government, the military, and the police are protecting the people?

“We are talking about 1,176 over a period of 25 years. In less than 10 years, from 2016 till date, we are talking about over 1,100 persons killed. If something is going on consistently like this, can we say that those who are saddled with the responsibility of protecting life and property are doing their constitutional duties?” he asked.

Speaking on the way forward, the Irigwe leader said: “Everybody is aware that the US government declared the Fulani militias the fourth deadliest terrorist group and the same people have killed and maimed innocent citizens of the state.

“In Barkin Ladi LGA alone, the governor was quoted to have said 53 communities have been renamed and taken over by the same militias.

“If these people have proven themselves to be as deadly as this, why is it difficult for the federal government to proscribe them as a terrorist group?”

According to him, unless the government categorise and classify them as a terrorist group, the killings would continue.

But in a swift reaction, the state chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Yusuf Babayo, described the allegation that Fulani herders were responsible for the killings as a fabrication of lies against the hardworking herdsmen.

Babayo said the Fulani herders were also victims of the persistent attacks and killings in the state.

He called on the herders to remain peaceful and to report any breach of peace to law enforcement agencies for prompt actions.

The chairman of Bokkos Cultural Development Council Vanguard (BCDCV), Barr. Farmasum Fuddang told LEADERSHIP-Weekend in an interview that from December 2023 till date 500 persons have been killed while over 3,000 persons were displaced by the militias.

He explained that the way his people operate is that displaced persons do not normally go to IDPs’ camps but they are rather absorbed by their relatives in other communities, adding that over 2,000 of them have returned to their villages and were staying in churches.

According to him, the returnees are being supported by the Plateau State government, Bokkos local government area, the federal government, COCIN, ECWA and other non-governmental organisations with food.and other basic items.

The chairman said the federal government had not done enough because the killing had continued.

He stressed that the primary responsibility of the government is the protection of the life and property of the citizenry.

“We expected that the federal government should rise to the occasion. People are being killed on daily basis and the government is not doing anything about it. Nobody has been arrested or paraded. Our attackers are still there roaming the streets with impunity,” he alleged.

On the way forward, Fuddang advocated the establishment of state police, which, according to him, was long overdue. He argued that the governor as the chief security officer of the state cannot control the police or military because they do not take orders from him, but from their bosses in Abuja.

“If we have state police, they can be deployed to attacked scenes when the need arises to deal with the situation because the officers are familiar with the terrain to bring the situation under control.

“Since the federal government has failed in its responsibility to protect us, we should be allowed to defend ourselves. Each time people call for self-defence, the federal government will look at it as a call to anarchy. If they do not want anarchy, let them do the needful.”

The District Head of Manguna in Bokkos local government area of Plateau State,  Chief Raymond Alo, asserted that some perpetrators of the attacks that led to the killing of over 53 persons were known members of their communities.

Alo made the revelation during the visit of Governor Caleb Mutfwang to the mass grave site where the victims were buried.

According to him, if given the opportunity, they could be identified with a view to bringing them to justice.

He appealed to Governor Mutfwang to intensify efforts to draw federal government attention to the plight of the victims and the urgent need to rebuild their communities.

State Government Unveils Measures To Avert Further Attacks

The state commissioner for information and communication, Hon. Joyce Ramnap, who spoke on the measures the state government had taken to prevent a recurrence, said Governor Mutfwang swiftly convened an emergency security council meeting with all heads of security agencies, adding that it had resulted in the deployment of additional personnel to strategic and vulnerable locations.

“In addition to that, the state’s internal security outfit, ‘Operation Rainbow’ is being restructured and reinforced with 600 new recruits to be trained and deployed with a clear mandate to provide intelligence, secure communities, and respond to threats”.

Others, according to her, are the activation of the Inter-Religious Council for Peace Mediation, the appointment of a Special Envoy on Peace to lead grassroots consultations, committee to collate and harmonise all the reports of judicial commissions and the formation of a Fact-Finding Committee to investigate the resurgence of violence and propose measures to ensure lasting peace in the state.

On the humanitarian crisis, the commissioner hinted that emergency relief and food aid were being distributed to the affected persons in churches and temporary shelters through partnerships with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).

“To curb the movement of criminal elements, the governor announced new security directives prohibiting night grazing statewide; banning transportation of cattle by vehicle after 7:00 pm; and movement of motorcycles is restricted between 7:00 pm and 6:00 am daily,” she said.

The commissioner also disclosed that the state government had earmarked 30 hectares of land for the cultivation of Napier grass, an essential feed for livestock in the vast Wase Game Reserve which has become the abode of bandits.

“The Wase Game Reserve will be reclaimed and distributed to registered herders for grazing. Government has also come out with a blueprint for registered cluster farmers in their communities to cultivate and plant crops so that they do not run away from their ancestral lands,” Ramnap said