In response to the tragic attacks on Zikke and Kimakpa communities in the Bassa Local Government Area (LGA) of Plateau State, Governor Caleb Mutfwang convened an expanded state security council meeting on Monday to address the escalating insecurity in the area.
The meeting was held at the Council Chamber of the Government House in Jos, where deliberations on the security situation, especially the disturbing resurgence of attacks in Bassa and Bokkos LGAs with decisive measures aimed at restoring peace and preventing further bloodshed across the state.
The governor said over 100 militiamen invaded the affected communities to maul innocent residents on Monday morning.
“We are on top of the situation and will go to any length to forestall a recurrence,” the governor assured the people of the state.
The death toll in Monday’s attack hit 51, with several houses razed. Mutfwang said he would provide more information surrounding the attack during a broadcast on Tuesday, April 15, 2025.
According to a Kwall community leader, Wakili Tongwe, the attackers invaded the village in the early hours of Monday and shot sporadically at residents who were scampering for safety after hearing gunshots.
The community leader earlier told one of our correspondents on the phone that a team of vigilantes, including himself and some security personnel, were on patrol in another community when the attackers invaded the village and started shooting.
Though the security personnel engaged the invaders and succeeded in repelling the attackers, the damage had been done, with about thirty-six persons shot dead and four others dying later.
Some other residents sustained gunshot wounds and are receiving medical attention at the hospital.
Security agencies in the state are yet to comment on the attack, which is coming less than two weeks after 52 persons were killed in some communities of the Bokkos Local Government Area of the North-Central state.
Plateau State has, for several decades, been a hotbed of killings, with gunmen sacking entire communities. About 200 people were killed at Christmas 2023 celebrations during a bloody attack on a majority Christian community. In May last year, around 40 people were killed and homes torched in the town of Wase.
Experts blame the fight for resources between farmers and herders as a major cause of the attacks.
However, the governor of the state said there is more to the attacks. “I can tell you in all honesty that I cannot find any explanation other than genocide sponsored by terrorists. The question is, who are the persons behind the organisers of this terrorism? This is what the security agencies must help us to unravel,” the governor said on a recent edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today.
He said bandits have taken over 64 communities in the state. “As I am talking to you, there are not less than 64 communities that have been taken over by bandits on the Plateau between Bokkos, Barkin Ladi, and Riyom local governments,” Muftwang said. “They have been taken over and renamed, and people are living there conveniently on lands they pushed people away to occupy.”
The federal government has been talking tough following the recent wave of attacks, vowing to flush out the assailants. The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, “ordered the immediate and comprehensive deployment of police tactical assets to the affected areas of the state.”
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has directed security agencies to conduct a thorough investigation into the recurring communal crisis in Plateau State, with a view to identifying and bringing the perpetrators to justice.
He also charged the governor, Mutfwang, to summon the necessary political will to address the root causes of the crisis and establish lasting peace in the state.
According to a statement by his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, the President expressed profound sorrow over the recent bloodshed in Plateau, a tragedy that claimed over 40 lives.
He strongly condemned the violence and extended his sympathies to the governor, the Sstategovernment, and the people of the state.
In his appeal for harmony, President Tinubu emphasized the importance of love and unity beyond religious and ethnic boundaries.
He urged community, spiritual, and political leaders within and outside the state to work together to end the cycle of retaliatory attacks that have made life unbearable for affected communities.
“The ongoing violence between communities in Plateau State, rooted in misunderstandings between different ethnic and religious groups, must cease.
“I have instructed security agencies to thoroughly investigate this crisis and identify those responsible for orchestrating these violent acts. We cannot allow this devastation and the tit-for-tat attacks to continue. Enough is enough.
“Beyond dealing with the criminal elements behind these incessant killings, the political leadership in Plateau State, led by Governor Caleb Mutfwang, must address the root cause of this age-long problem. These issues have persisted for more than two decades.
“We can no longer ignore the underlying factors. It is time to tackle them fairly and find a lasting solution. I have discussed these problems with the governor over time and offered suggestions for lasting peace.
“The federal government remains committed to supporting Governor Mutfwang and the Plateau State government in promoting dialogue, fostering social cohesion, and ensuring accountability, which are crucial steps toward permanently resolving the conflict in Plateau.”
