Mangu Killings: 24 Dead as Survivors Recount How Fulani Herdsmen Stormed Homes in Plateau

At least 24 people have reportedly been killed in a night attack on Bin-Per community in Kombun District, Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, with survivors describing how armed assailants allegedly moved from house to house, killing residents who were asleep.

The attack occurred from about 11:30pm on Monday, August 17, into the early hours of Tuesday, August 18.

According to community sources, the attackers first confronted local vigilantes before dividing into groups and entering different parts of the community.

Several homes were reportedly set ablaze, while farmlands, crops and stored food were destroyed.

The victims were later buried in a mass burial as the community struggled to come to terms with the scale of the violence.

For survivors, the tragedy was particularly painful because the attackers allegedly targeted families inside their homes.

Daniel Musa, an eyewitness, said the attackers were heavily armed and systematically moved through the community.

“Our village came under attack in the early hours of today, Tuesday, by heavily armed persons.

“They were moving from house to house, opening the doors of people who were sleeping and slaughtering them,” he said.

Families wiped out

Residents said some families suffered devastating losses.

Fangwsak James said eight members of one family were killed in a single compound.

He said the only survivor was a two-year-old child who sustained gunshot wounds to the leg and hip and was initially left for dead.

Shedrack Ayuba said he also lost his wife and four children.

Ayuba said he was on vigilante duty when gunshots suddenly rang out from different directions.

“I was with some of my co-vigilantes keeping watch over the community when we heard shooting from all over,” he said.

He said he attempted to escape through a building but was shot in the leg.

“I managed to escape through a maize farm. My wife and children were not spared.

“They went into my house and opened fire on them while they were sleeping.

“I was taken to the hospital. It was the next day that I discovered that my wife had been killed,” he said.

Another resident reportedly lost three children in the attack.

Residents say attackers prevented escape

According to residents, the attackers appeared to have planned their positions around the community to make escape difficult.

“They positioned themselves strategically and scattered themselves so that nobody would escape,” one resident said.

Some residents attempting to flee were reportedly attacked and killed.

“They did not spare anyone. They killed everyone,” Tongret Rogo said.

Ronbak Maxwell said the attackers first overran the vigilantes before advancing into the community.

He said the incident started around 11:30pm and that about two vigilantes were killed before the Fulani Herdsmen moved into the residential areas.

The attackers reportedly split into groups and began entering homes.

“We called for help but the response was not fast,” Maxwell said.

According to him, women and children accounted for most of the casualties.

Women take protest to streets

The killings prompted women from Bin-Per to stage a peaceful protest as the community buried its dead.

Carrying leaves, the women demanded urgent government intervention and expressed grief over the loss of husbands, children, relatives, neighbours and friends.

Mrs Ladi Joshua, one of the protesters, said the destruction had gone beyond the loss of individual lives.

“The scale of destruction is not merely an attack on individuals but an attack on an entire community, its dignity, livelihood, and future,” the women said.

They questioned how heavily armed attackers could repeatedly penetrate vulnerable communities and called for a review of the security arrangements in the area.

The women said youths who intervened during the attack helped prevent an even higher death toll.

“Citizens should not have to become their own soldiers before they can sleep safely in their homes,” they said.

However, they maintained that community self-defence could not replace the government’s responsibility to protect lives and property.

They appealed to Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang and the Federal Government to strengthen intelligence gathering, deploy security personnel proactively and establish effective rapid-response mechanisms.

Lawmakers demand urgent intervention

The Plateau State House of Assembly has joined calls for stronger security measures.

During plenary, Dr Matthew Sylvester Kwarpo, representing Mangu South Constituency, raised a Matter of Urgent Public Importance over the attacks.

Kwarpo said more than 25 people were killed in Bin-Per, while another person was killed in Jwak and Murish communities.

He also disclosed that 38 houses were burnt and several hectares of farmland, barns containing stored grains and other valuables destroyed.

The lawmaker warned that the destruction of agricultural resources could worsen hardship and threaten food security.

He called for a critical stakeholders’ meeting on the security situation and urged authorities to strengthen intelligence gathering, surveillance and the deployment of security personnel to vulnerable areas.

Kwarpo also appealed to the Plateau State Government, SEMA, humanitarian agencies and other organisations to provide relief materials, food, medical care and shelter to affected residents.

Mutfwang directs security agencies to step up patrols

Governor Mutfwang directed security agencies to intensify surveillance and patrols in Bin-Per, Kombun District and other vulnerable parts of Mangu.

The state government condemned the attack and described it as a threat to the peace and security being consolidated across Plateau State.

Mutfwang sympathised with the victims and their families and urged residents to avoid reprisal attacks.

He also asked residents to provide credible information that could help security agencies identify and arrest the attackers.

Police promise arrests

The Plateau State Commissioner of Police, CP Ayodeji Faniyan, visited Bin-Per to assess the situation and meet residents and community leaders.

Faniyan commiserated with traditional council elders, the local government chairman and residents and delivered the condolence message of Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Rilwan Disu.

He promised that the perpetrators would be brought to justice.

“The Command will do everything within its constitutional powers to identify, arrest and prosecute those responsible,” he said.

The CP said security had been strengthened in Bin-Per and neighbouring communities.

He appealed to residents to provide investigators with accurate and timely information.

Faniyan also warned against jungle justice, saying residents must not take the law into their own hands.

ADC condemns killings

Hon. Jude Eli Dakur, Plateau State scribe of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), described the killings as “barbaric, senseless and unacceptable.”

Dakur condemned the killing of sleeping residents and the destruction of homes, farms and other property.

He urged security agencies to immediately pursue the perpetrators and demanded improved intelligence, surveillance and rapid-response systems across Mangu and other vulnerable parts of Plateau.

PIDAN calls for security emergency

The Plateau Initiative for Development and Advancement of the Natives (PIDAN), Central Zone, called for the declaration of a state of emergency on security in affected communities.

The group made the demand in a statement signed by its Central Zone Chairman, Alpha John Dakwak.

PIDAN said the latest attack, coming after a series of deadly incidents in Plateau, showed that the government’s response needed to go beyond condolences.

“Condolences are no substitute for security. Expressions of grief cannot resurrect the dead. What the people need now is decisive action, not another cycle of condemnation and condolences,” the organisation said.

It declared: “Enough is enough,” calling for “extraordinary, immediate and unequivocal action.”

PIDAN urged the Plateau Government to take all necessary measures to protect vulnerable communities.

It also called for the training, equipping and proper coordination of local vigilantes to complement conventional security agencies, particularly in remote areas.

The group demanded a review of military deployment and urged the National Assembly to fast-track the State Police Bill, arguing that state police could strengthen community-based policing.

It also called for improved intelligence gathering, early-warning mechanisms and rapid-response systems capable of preventing attacks before they occur.

“The people of Plateau State deserve to live in peace, farm their lands and raise their families without the constant fear of being attacked,” PIDAN said.

Attack renews security fears

The Bin-Per violence came barely days after gunmen reportedly attacked Juwak Mai Tunbi community in Mangu, destroying properties including tin sheds, places of worship and a chemist.

The latest incident has therefore renewed concerns over the security of communities in Mangu and the wider Plateau State.

For residents, the demand is now not simply for condemnation but for measures capable of preventing another night of horror.

As PIDAN put it: “This is no longer a time for condemnation alone. It is a time for action.”

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