By John Moses
Ongoing unrest in Nigeria’s volatile Middle Belt has once again turned deadly, with at least six people killed and 12 others wounded in Bassa and Mangu LGAs of Plateau State, amid heightened ethnic and communal tensions.
Initial reports indicate that the victims, most of whom were women and children, were caught in targeted attacks over the weekend. The violence has seen villages set ablaze, families displaced, and longstanding grievances flare anew.
The Ancha community in Bassa LGA and Gyenbwas Rinji in Mangu LGA were the scenes of separate but related incidents, according to sources and local associations.
The Fulani community, represented by GAFDAN, alleges that some of its members were ambushed and murdered while tending cattle. GAFDAN chairman Garba Abdullahi said, “They were grazing when they were dragged to Ancha and killed. This was a targeted act.”
Meanwhile, Aliyu Adamu, an eyewitness from Gyenbwas Rinji, recounted how armed assailants attacked around 7 a.m., killing his brother and another woman, and razing numerous homes. “They came in large numbers and opened fire. We lost everything,” he said.
However, the Mwaghavul Youth Development Movement (MYM) offered a different account. Its acting chairman, Mr Mangs Fwangkat Isa, claimed the violence stemmed from a Fulani ambush on Sunday evening, in which one Mwaghavul youth was killed and two injured.
He said that Fulani gunmen later returned during a tense standoff on Monday, escalating the situation. “Our youths tried to defend themselves with sticks and cutlasses after being provoked,” Isa explained.
He added that some of the injuries might have been caused by military personnel attempting to restore order. “According to witnesses, soldiers fired the fatal shots, not the Fulani attackers,” he said.
The Plateau State Police and Operation Safe Haven task force are said to be investigating, as concerns grow over the region’s fragile peace and the absence of adequate protection for civilians.
