At least four people, including a 13-year-old boy, were reportedly killed in the early hours of Thursday following a fresh outbreak of violence in the Gangaran Kwata area of Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Residents said the attack occurred around 2am, sparking tension and panic in the community.
A religious leader in the area, Abdullahi Maicibi, confirmed the incident to Weekend Trust, saying the bodies of the victims were taken to the Central Mosque in Mangu for funeral prayers.
Another resident, Shagari Madaki, said several houses were also set ablaze during the attack, adding, “We don’t know why the attackers invaded our area.”
According to Maicibi, the attackers, suspected to be members of the Mwaghavul ethnic group, stormed the area and opened fire on residents, killing four individuals. He called on security agencies to act fast, warning that continued failure to arrest perpetrators of violence would further embolden non-state actors and plunge the region into lawlessness.
Musa Ibrahim, an uncle to one of the victims, recounted his experience, saying, “I was with my nephew when we first heard gunshots. We went to see what was happening, and the shooting stopped. But when it resumed, I rushed back and was told that my nephew had been killed and beheaded,” he said.
When contacted for comment on the allegations, the spokesperson for the Mwaghavul Youth Movement (MYM) in Mangu district, Satmak Bala, claimed that the violence was a reprisal following recent attacks on members of the Mwaghavul community.
“I want to assure you that Mwaghavul youth will never go to attack. But we have already sworn that whoever attacks Mwaghavul chiefdom, apart from God, we must go for reprisal. I want you to tell the world that whoever attacks us, we must go for reprisal.
“We can never allow our chiefdom and culture to be molested or destroyed for no reason. That is the stand of the youth. What happened yesterday was a reprisal when some Fulani attacked a woman and her son, Dickson, who was butchered. The woman screamed. We went for reprisal and they brought out guns,” he said.
Efforts to reach the spokesperson of Operation Safe Haven, Major Samson Zhakom were unsuccessful as he was yet to respond to inquiries at the time of filing this report.
