• Anxiety in communities as residents nurse fear of fresh attacks
• ‘We need peace to celebrate, but there’s no peace here’
From Jude Owuamanam, Jos and Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
For residents of Plateau and Benue States, these are not the best of times. Recent attacks on communities in the two states, allegedly by armed herders, have left scores dead, thousands displaced and property destroyed.
And as Nigerians prepare for this weekend’s Easter celebrations, residents of some of the communities affected by the attacks in the two states insist that celebrating Easter is not one of their priorities for now, as they continue to mourn their loved ones slain by the attackers.
Mourning mood in Plateau communities
Just as it happened on Christmas Eve in 2023, residents of Plateau State are once again facing the prospects of a bleak Easter celebration.
To residents of many communities in the state, Easter celebration is the last thing on their minds. They are still in a mourning mood.
Many residents of the state are grieving over their kinsmen killed when their communities were plundered and pillaged by suspected killer herdsmen who overran two local government areas of Bokkos and Bassa recently, leaving more than 100 people dead, dozens wounded and many houses razed.
As it was in Mangu and Barkin Ladi local Government areas on December 24, 2023, the marauding gunmen, invaded the communities of Mangor Tamiso, Daffo, Manguna (Tagai), Hurti and Tadai in Bokkos Local Government area on the night of April 2 and opened fire on the sleeping villagers. At the last count, 52 persons were killed. This attack came after 11 people, amongst them a pregnant woman, her husband, and a ten-year-old girl, were killed in yet another attack on Ruwi village of the same Bokkos on March 28.
On April 2, the evil train stopped at Bassa, as gunmen suspected to be herdsmen overran Zike, Kimakpa community in Kwall District of Irigwe Chiefdom in Bassa Local Government. It happened less than 48 hours after a father and two sons were equally killed in the same Bassa local government area.
Unfortunately, killings in Plateau State appeared to take an identified pattern. It is either happening during the approach of a festive season, or at the beginning of the farming season or harvest time.
As regards the recent incident, there is palpable fear that the attackers might yet again take advantage of the Easter celebration to launch attacks on other vulnerable local government areas, including Jos, the state capital, which is less than 50 km to Bassa, the theatre of the recent incident.
As usual, residents have limited their movements, especially from 7 pm. Our correspondent, who moved round the Jos and Bukuru metropolis between Wednesday and Thursday, observed that residents had gone to bed as early as 7.30 pm. The hustling and bustling at Ahmadu Bello Way, Rwang Pam Street and adjoining areas had assumed some solemnity as traders close early to avoid being caught up in any unfortunate incident.
In the same vein, traders in popular markets like Ferin Gada in Jos and Kugya market in Bukuru, where residents buy foodstuff, had closed as early as 6.30 pm.
One house, one widow: Bassa victims recall night of horror
Victims of the recent Bassa killings have shared the harrowing experiences they suffered in the hands of the attackers. A young girl wept uncontrollably as she spoke of how her entire family was wiped out and her house burnt down.
Daniel Anka, the chairman of Plateau Youth Council in Bassa, said that the marauders came while the villagers were sleeping. He said they knocked on the door of each household, and as soon as doors were opened, they killed the innocent villagers instantly.
He said: “The attackers would come, knock on your door and as you opened, they would fire at you and set your house on fire. As I am talking to you, a family of eight was wiped out. The father, the mother and all her children were killed and their house completely burnt down. This is the pattern all over the villages.”
A resident, Mary Sunday, said that more than 600 women have been widowed by the Fulani herdsmen in Bassa alone. “There is no household in Bassa that you will not see a widow. In Bassa alone, we have more than 670 widows whose husbands have been killed and we are still counting,” she said.
Government’s response
To avert a recurrence, Governor Caleb Mutfwang has taken practical steps to reassure residents of their safety. Already, the governor has banned night grazing in the state as well as restricted transportation of cattle from 7 pm. The governor also restricted movement of commercial motorbikes from 7pm to 6am statewide, while encouraging communities to immediately activate vigilance groups to work in synergy with the conventional security.
Speaking while visiting grieving communities in Bokkos and Bassa, he assured them that these would be the last of the killings in the state.
Speaking at the residence of the paramount ruler of Kimakpa community in Kwall District of Irigwe Chiefdom in Bassa, Mutfwang admitted the apparent failure guaranteeing the safety of its citizens against invaders and begged the locals to forgive them.
He said the time has come for residents across all troubled communities to unite and take the matter of their security with seriousness and pledged that the state and federal government have intensified more proactive measures to prevent further reoccurrence of such dastardly acts in the area.
The governor further urged them to rise up and do all within their power to defend and protect themselves against their attackers.
“We have come to a point in time in Nigeria where every community must make arrangements to defend itself,” the governor said.
Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetoku, has also visited the Government House in Jos, in company with senior officers, where he commiserated with Governor Caleb Mutfwang and the people of the state. He assured that the police would put the best effort to douse the rising tensions and apprehend the perpetrators.
He said: “We will continue to work tirelessly until we are able to solve this problem. The criminals are exploiting the obvious fact that it is not possible for us to cover all the vulnerable communities in Plateau State with manpower. But we cannot allow this to continue. These criminals must know that their days are numbered.”
But a security expert, Dr. Edinen Usoroh, was not persuaded. He noted that, beyond rhetoric, he did not see any end to the crises in Plateau State. According to him, the pattern of killings in Plateau State since 2001 and others in Benue and other states has a similar pattern, which both the state and federal government have consistently ignored.
He said: “Sadly I don’t seem to see any light at the end of the tunnel because we’re just back to the scenario of December 23. When the attacks of December 23 happened, the same kind of movements of senior military and police officers, visitors from the federal government, and those coming on condolence visits did occur – same thing we’re seeing now. The question is, between 2023 and now, has there been any change in strategy, change in preparedness, change in trying to curb these killings?
“The answer is no. So for me, it doesn’t matter that you just wait for it to happen. I’m not that hopeful, sadly.”
Responding to the suggestion that communities should be ready to defend themselves, Usoroh said: “And what could likely happen in that situation when people start to defend themselves? I don’t know. Like I said, the sentiments are so much now. So the government can’t just say that people should start defending themselves. The security agencies too will now go around arresting the same people. Is the government going to issue them some kind of licenses for the weapons they’re going to use to defend themselves, or are they going to defend themselves with bare hands? It’s a big, very big issue. What is happening in North Western states is what is happening in other states. And the government doesn’t want to face that.”
We’ll checkmate activities of hoodlums – Police
Meanwhile the police in Plateau say they have marshalled out plans to check the activities of hoodlums during the Easter celebrations.
Police Commissioner, Olugbemiga Adesina, in a statement on Thursday, said that additional personnel have been drafted to flashpoints and strategic positions throughout the state.
He said: “Our personnel from the State Intelligence Department (SID) have been deployed across all the 17 local government areas in the state for proper intelligence gathering.
The commissioner warned all mischief makers and criminally minded individuals who may want to take advantage of the tension in some parts of the state to foment trouble and disrupt the fragile peace currently being enjoyed in the state to desist from such, as the Command under his watch wouldn’t hesitate to deal decisively with them in accordance with the law.
He called on Christians to emulate the peaceful lifestyle of the Lord Jesus Christ as they commemorate his death and resurrection.
For Benue residents, no cheers at Easter
In Benue State, a similar melancholic mood pervades the streets of many communities, as armed herders continue to make life hellish for the people.
Some residents have narrated how their mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, including children, are being murdered in cold blood by terrorist herdsmen who are perpetrating evil in the state.
A resident of Otukpo who identified himself simply as Lawrence Ede told the reporter: “Two days ago, April 15, 2025, armed herdsmen invaded my village in Akpa, Otobi in Otukpo LGA and killed people. The killers are still all over the place, killing, maiming villagers and also burning out homes. Right now as we speak, after the last killing on Tuesday, my people have deserted the communities.
“After this, when our people return, they would have no place to lay their heads. They would have to start life afresh.
“So this is a black Easter for our people. No Easter celebration this year. It’s when you are alive that you celebrate and right now we are mourning the death of our dear ones and our people are on the run for their lives.”
Many would consider Ede’s lamentation justifiable. At the moment, there is anxiety and fear in many local governments in the state, as areas like Otukpo, Ukum, Gwer West, Guma, and Logo, among others, are currently under attack, resulting in the killings of many residents, with thousands displaced and property worth billions destroyed.
Mr Mvendaga Baaki also lamented how he lost his dear friend, a hearing-impaired person, when herdsmen attacked his village in Ukum some weeks back.
“When the attackers came, because he couldn’t hear, he didn’t know when people were shouting and running. So they met him in his hut and killed him.
“There can’t be any celebration because as we speak, we have information that as we speak, today, April 17, in Chito, Ukum LGA, these armed herders are coming in more and more. There are three armed herdsmen on one motorcycle, each with AK-47 and other automatic rifles.
“Residents of Chito and environs have deserted their homes. We were told that yesterday when it rained, infants, pregnant women, and the aged all slept in nearby bushes. We need peace to celebrate but we don’t have peace right now,” he said.
Chairman of Otukpo Local Government Area, (LGA), Mr Maxwell Ogiri said: “The culture of my people is such that when they lose a loved one or a close neighbour, the whole community is in mourning and these attacks have sent a shock wave of fear in everybody.
“Even for other communities that have not been affected, certainly the apprehension is up high that sooner or later, it may be them. And there is no provocation, we don’t even know what is aggravating these mindless attacks on different communities. However, we are not totally helpless. The community will reinvent itself and then put ourselves together to defend the peace and security of the land.”
Ogiri explained that after the last killing in Otobi, 11 people were found dead and several others were injured while there are multitudes of displaced people. “Yet the following day, which was April 16, in the afternoon, again there were attacks in Okpamaju, Odudaje and Emichi areas where these elements displaced people again and a few others are still missing in the bush.
“Earlier this morning, Thursday April 17, I heard that some of the people that were missing, that sustained injuries had died but the team of security men had gone to search for those that have not been found.
“These losses cannot be quantified. However, the remote consequence of this is that it has displaced people from their farmlands. It has created a sense of fear for people to access their farms. And these are agrarian communities that depend solely on agricultural production.
“The future survival of people, the food security is in danger. I’m just imploring people, I’m begging, especially the federal government, to still consider the issue of restating the decision of the Benue State government through the law that was passed by the state House of Assembly that open grazing is completely prohibited, so as to help enforce this law.”
While insisting that weapons of destruction should not be condoned in any society, the council boss said: “This is what they’re actually doing amongst us. The federal government needs to come to the aid of our people and secure the lives and property of the citizens.”