At least 18 people have been killed in renewed farmer-herder violence that started on Monday in the Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Multiple sources told our correspondent that an attack on Fulani herders in Gyenbwas village triggered the violence. Daily Trust reported that three people were killed and 96 houses were razed in the village on Monday.
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The herders blamed the attack on the Berom people in the Barkin Ladi local government area, where more than 100 people were killed in the infamous 2023 Christmas Eve massacre.
However, the Berom people denied involvement in the attack. Dalyop Solomon, the president of Berom Youth Moulders Association (BYM), told Daily Trust his people were under attack and “Fulani are only coming out with excuses to justify their terror attack.”
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Mr Solomon added that three members of his community were attacked on their farm.
Violence spread to other communities
The Monday violence has spread to other communities in Mangu, a volatile area where the Mwaghavul farmers and their herder neighbours have lived under tension since April 2023, when a clash in Murish village spilled to other villages.
The 2023 violence claimed more than 300 lives, with the farmers suffering the highest casualties, according to an investigation by a local newspaper based in neighbouring Bauchi State.
Our reporter understands that the Mangu crisis spiralled into a more deadly clash in Barkin Ladi LGA.
Following the Monday attack that was blamed on Berom people, armed men suspected to be Fulani herders struck, killing seven Mwaghavul people in Bwai village and eight in the Chicchim area of Mangu town.
Luka Jepson, a resident of Mangu town, told PREMIUM TIMES that the Bwai attack was carried out on Tuesday.
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“They killed seven at Bwai yesterday and eight at Chicchim today [Wednesday],” he said. “Those killed at Chicchim have been given a mass burial.”
Another resident, Uba Rilwanu, said there was an attempted attack on Murish village, following the killing of a Fulani man in Kantoma on Tuesday.
“But the soldiers thwarted the attack,” he said, adding that there is “tension everywhere.”
Alfred Alabo, the police spokesperson in Plateau State, could not be reached for comment as his work line was busy, and he did not respond to a text message.
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