Eleven victims of the Plateau massacre laid to rest as grief overwhelms Barkin Ladi. Berom Youths condemn killings, demand justice and tighter security.
Grief hung heavily over Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State on Wednesday as families and friends gathered to bury the eleven victims of the latest Plateau massacre.
Amid wailing and sorrow, the community united to mourn loved ones killed in yet another senseless attack by suspected Fulani militia.
The attack, which took place on Tuesday night, targeted Rachas village in Heipang District and Rawuru village in Fan District, both in Barkin Ladi.
Witnesses said the assailants stormed the communities under the cover of darkness, firing sporadically, looting properties, and burning houses. By dawn, eleven villagers — including five children — lay dead.
According to the President of the Berom Youth Moulders Association (BYM), Solomon Dalyop, the invaders operated with alarming precision, attacking both villages simultaneously.
The victims were later identified as:
Mr. Chollom Danjuma (37), Mr. Sunday Gyang (27), Mr. Kefas Dung (28), Solomon Dung (40), Mrs. Christy Dung (3), Marvellous Pam (9), Mr. Davou Manam (25), Japheth Solomon (7), Mancha Monday (7), Nyam Chollom (5), and Maryann Mancha (10).
Speaking at the mass burial, Dalyop lamented that the frequency of killings in Plateau had reached an unbearable level, calling on the government and security agencies to take urgent action.
“These innocent lives were cut short by the same recurring pattern of violence that has haunted our land for years,” he said.
In a statement jointly signed by Dalyop and BYM secretary Bature Iliya Adazaram, the group described the Plateau massacre as part of a renewed wave of systematic violence targeting Berom communities in Barkin Ladi and Riyom Local Government Areas.
“The Berom Youth Moulders Association is deeply saddened by the coordinated nature of these attacks that have, once again, thrown our people into mourning,” the statement read.
“What we are witnessing is not random violence but calculated acts of terror disguised as herder-farmer conflicts.”
The BYM alleged that the attackers, identified as Fulani militia, had repeatedly invaded communities with little or no resistance. The association expressed frustration that security operatives often failed to respond swiftly or to make arrests after each incident.
“We call on the Nigerian Army, the Police, and other security agencies to act with neutrality and professionalism,” the group added.
“The public is losing confidence because these killers continue to strike with impunity.”
The BYM also reiterated its demand for restricted cattle grazing, arguing that open grazing in communities without Fulani settlements had become a cover for infiltration and attacks.
“Cattle grazing has been abused and turned into a tool for surveillance and coordinated assaults. We maintain that grazing must be prohibited in all Berom villages where there are no Fulani settlements,” the statement said.
Within just one week, the association reported, twenty-five people were killed in separate attacks across Fan, Heipang, and Wereng.
“This is one of the darkest weeks for the Berom Nation,” Dalyop said, warning that the violence risked pushing communities into despair and self-defence.
Beyond the killings, the BYM lamented the frequent rustling of cattle owned by indigenous residents — incidents it said received no government or media attention.
“While sympathy and national attention are often given to Fulani herders when they lose cattle, no one talks about the repeated theft of livestock belonging to our people,” the statement noted.
“We demand fairness in how victims of violence are treated, regardless of ethnicity.”
The association also declared that it would no longer attend joint security meetings involving Fulani leaders, alleging that such gatherings had become traps leading to new attacks.
“After losing 25 persons within seven days, we make bold to state that any security meeting involving killer Fulani will not have our presence,” the BYM stated.
“These so-called peace meetings have been used as setups for fresh ambushes.”
The youth leaders further accused the attackers of using cattle as a cover for terrorism, calling for urgent government intervention to dismantle what they described as the “propaganda machinery of killer herders.”
“The propaganda tactics of these killers — hiding behind cattle to terrorize innocent people — must be stopped immediately. We can no longer tolerate being victims on our own land,” the statement declared.
Residents of Rachas and Rawuru who survived the attack recounted their ordeal, describing a night filled with horror and helplessness. One survivor, who gave his name as Davou, said the attackers came in large numbers and surrounded the village before opening fire.
“They shot at anything that moved. My neighbour’s house was set ablaze with people still inside. We ran into the bush, but some of us never came out alive,” he said tearfully.
Local vigilante groups have since been patrolling the area, but residents remain fearful of further attacks. Community elders are calling for more military presence and better intelligence gathering to prevent recurrence.
A respected community elder, Chief Pam Nyam, described the killings as “an orchestrated attempt to erase indigenous populations.” He urged the Plateau State Government to take the matter beyond routine condemnation.
“We have buried enough of our sons and daughters. Every time it happens, we are told it’s unknown gunmen. But these attackers are known. They are not ghosts,” he said.
Security analysts and civil society groups have also condemned the killings, describing them as part of Nigeria’s deepening security crisis. A Jos-based human rights advocate, Barrister Gyang Luka, said the Plateau massacre reflected the government’s failure to protect its citizens.
“This tragedy shows how broken our security architecture has become,” Luka said.
“When murderers operate freely and no one is prosecuted, the killings will continue. Justice must be swift and visible.”
He further stressed that the Plateau massacre was not merely a local tragedy but a national disgrace.
“Every mass burial is a reminder that Nigeria’s human rights protection system is collapsing. The world must not look away,” he added.
Meanwhile, displaced residents from the affected villages are seeking refuge in neighboring communities. Humanitarian groups say dozens of families have been forced to flee, leaving behind homes, farms, and livelihoods.
At the burial site, cries of anguish filled the air as clergy members prayed for peace and comfort for the bereaved. Mothers clung to coffins of their children; fathers stood silently, their faces etched with pain. For many, this was not the first time they were burying loved ones — and they feared it might not be the last.
As the sun set over Barkin Ladi, the eleven graves stood as a haunting reminder of the fragility of life and the high cost of silence in the face of evil. The people of Plateau, still mourning, are once again demanding what every citizen deserves — safety, justice, and peace.
For them, the Plateau massacre is not just another headline. It is a wound that refuses to heal — a painful symbol of how deeply insecurity has scarred Nigeria’s once-peaceful highlands.
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