A fresh wave of violence has swept through Plateau State as at least 27 farmers were killed in an early morning assault on the Bindi-Jebbu settlement in the Tahoss community of Riyom Local Government Area on Monday.
Local sources confirmed the victims — which include both men and women — were gunned down during the attack, which also left many injured. Survivors are currently receiving treatment at various health facilities, including the Jos University Teaching Hospital and Plateau Hospital.
Chairman of Riyom LGA, Bature Sati Shuwa, acknowledged the deadly incident but said he couldn’t yet confirm the number of casualties as he was en route to the affected area at the time of his response.
Security forces under Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) and the Plateau State Police Command are yet to officially react to the development. Repeated efforts to get comments from their spokespersons, Major Samson Zhakom and DSP Alabo Alfred, were unsuccessful as messages sent by our correspondent had gone unanswered as of press time.
However, the National President of the Berom Youth Moulders Association (BYM), Dalyop Solomon, confirmed the deaths to PUNCH Metro on Tuesday.
“Twenty-seven persons were killed and many were injured. We have taken the bodies to different hospitals before the burial,”
he stated, adding that the gunmen, believed to be Fulani assailants, stormed the community firing indiscriminately and burning homes.
He noted that all bodies had been deposited in hospital morgues, pending an official announcement on burial arrangements.
The incident once again raises alarm over insecurity in Plateau, a region that has suffered repeated attacks by armed groups in recent years. In response to the deteriorating situation, the Plateau State Government recently recruited 150 agro-rangers to bolster rural security efforts.
In a follow-up statement released on Tuesday evening, BYM’s Secretary General Bature Iliya Adazaram and President Solomon Dalyop strongly condemned the massacre. They claimed that the attackers originated from Bangai-Fulani, Ganawuri, and other neighboring locations, and that the incident took place between 4:00 am and 6:00 am.
The group raised serious concerns about alleged security lapses:
“What happened in Jebu this morning is the usual Fulani crime against humanity, deliberately carried out under the watch of some security agents who are said to have been compromised by colluding with the attackers,”
the statement read.
The association noted that while the Unit Commander of Operation Safe Haven stationed at Sopp was commended for repelling the attackers from one flank, the reinforcement team allegedly remained passive, stationed by the roadside as the carnage continued until daybreak.
“The BYM, during an on-the-spot assessment at the scene of the attack, eyewitnesses under anonymity commended the Unit Commander of Operation Safe Haven, stationed at Sopp for their gallantry demonstrated in repelling the attackers from one end, but also registered their loss of confidence in the reinforcement team of the OPSH that came and stationed itself by the roadside, where the massacre was perpetrated even up to 6:00 am,”
the youth group added.
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