…The Plateau State chairman of MACBAN, Ibrahim Yusuf Babayo, condemned the attack as brutal, noting that one victim was beheaded.
PLATEAU, NIGERIA- The iNews Times | For decades, Plateau State has been celebrated as Nigeria’s “Home of Peace and Tourism”, a land of rolling hills, cool weather, and fertile soil that sustains potatoes, maize, vegetables, and fruits throughout the year. Visitors troop to Jos for its climate and scenic beauty. But behind that postcard image, grief and fear now dominate many rural communities.
In the past two weeks, renewed violence has left at least 19 people dead across parts of Barkin Ladi and Riyom Local Government Areas. What residents describe as coordinated and calculated assaults have deepened long-standing tensions between farming settlements and pastoral communities.
One of the deadliest incidents occurred on February 22 in Dorowa Babuje, Barkin Ladi LGA. According to eyewitnesses, gunmen stormed a local relaxation spot around 7:30 p.m., opening fire on patrons.
Sunday Bulus, who narrowly escaped the attack, recounted hearing rapid gunshots while preparing to eat dinner nearby. Within minutes, panic engulfed the village. Nine people were killed in that assault alone.
Community leaders described the killings as barbaric, insisting rural dwellers who had coexisted peacefully for years are now living in constant fear.
The violence reportedly began days earlier. On February 19, three herders were ambushed and killed along the Dorowa-Jong road while returning from a Quranic lesson. The Plateau State chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Ibrahim Yusuf Babayo, condemned the attack as brutal, noting that one victim was beheaded.
Two days later, in Jol village of Riyom LGA, two teenage herders, Muhammad Sani, 18, and Furuk Bilyaminu, 17 were shot dead while grazing cattle.
By Sunday evening, violence had escalated again. In addition to the nine killed in Dorowa Babuje, another resident died in a separate attack in Jol, where three others sustained injuries. On Monday, four shoe traders traveling from Jos to Pankshin were ambushed and killed, pushing the total death toll to 19.
Security officials attribute the unrest to long-standing disputes over farmland, grazing routes, and water access. Farmers accuse herders of destroying crops and encroaching on agricultural land, while herders allege cattle rustling and targeted attacks against their communities.
No group has claimed responsibility for the killings. While some community leaders in Plateau describe the attackers as armed militias or terrorists, security agencies have broadly labeled them bandits.
The hardest-hit areas in Plateau state, Dorowa Babuje in Barkin Ladi and Jol in Riyom, now bear visible scars. Residents say farming activities have slowed dramatically as fear keeps people indoors.
Large portions of farmland remain uncultivated as the planting season approaches. Some families have fled to safer towns, abandoning crops, livestock, and homes. Locals warn that if the violence continues, food production in the state could suffer significantly.
Following the attacks, troops under Operation Enduring Peace intensified patrols in the affected LGAs. The General Officer Commanding 3 Division assured residents that investigations were underway and urged calm.
Governor Caleb Mutfwang condemned the killings, describing them as senseless and inhumane. He directed security agencies to pursue the perpetrators and increase their presence in vulnerable communities. The governor has also reiterated his call for state policing and expanded recruitment into Operation Rainbow, Plateau’s community security outfit.
At the federal level, Vice President Kashim Shettima recently announced approval for the recruitment of 1,000 forest guards to strengthen security across Plateau’s rural belts. The initiative is expected to complement military deployments, including a newly stationed intervention battalion tasked with curbing banditry and kidnappings.
Frustration boiled over earlier in the week when youths in Barkin Ladi blocked a major highway in protest, demanding decisive action. Religious leaders, speaking during burial rites for some of the victims, called for justice while urging communities to resist retaliatory violence.
As Plateau mourns, residents fear that without lasting solutions, the state once known for peace and tourism risks further descent into instability, its fertile lands increasingly overshadowed by bloodshed and uncertainty.
