Three people died and two were seriously injured on 5 February in an attack by armed men of Fulani extraction on the Maiyanga community, while two men were killed in a separate attack in Mabel village. Both areas are in Bokkos Local Government Area (LGA) of Plateau State.
According to local reports, armed men of Fulani ethnicity descended on Maiyanga village on motorcycles at around 7pm and began shooting at people who were relaxing outside their homes. The three deceased reportedly were related to each other and included retired a police officer Mahan Maram, who was buried on 6 February. The injured, identified as Juwil Makwin and Chidozie Joseph, were rushed to hospital, where they continue to receive treatment.
Although security agents were alerted by villagers, they reportedly arrived at Maiyanga after the militia left.
Also on 5 February, two brothers from Mabel village were killed at their farm. One of them had recently married.
Confirming both incidents, the president of the Butura Youth Development Association of Bokkos LGA, Marshall Sule, appealed to both the state government and security agencies to assist the communities and villages in area, as attacks and abductions are now occurring almost daily, and many farmers no longer tend their fields for fear of being attacked or kidnapped.
Militia have been targeting villages in Bokkos LGA for several months. In one of the most disturbing incidents, 11 people were killed and 8 were injured following an attack on the Maikatako community on the evening of 15 November 2022 in which three houses were burnt down. Nine of the victims were reportedly from the same family and were burnt beyond recognition in a compound that was razed to the ground entirely. The others were shot dead, and their bodies were found the next morning in their burnt homes.
Plateau state is located in Nigeria’s ‘Middle Belt,’ an area known as the nation’s breadbasket where attacks on non-Muslim farming communities have been underway since 2010, centring particularly on Plateau, southern Kaduna and Benue states. These attacks increased exponentially in frequency and geographical scope under the current administration, disrupting farming activities and raising credible concerns of a hunger gap.
Initial prevailing narratives attributed this violence to climate change, competition for resources and reprisal or ‘tit for tat’ attacks. However, an asymmetry in frequency and weaponry, the targeting of minority ethnic communities who overwhelmingly espouse a particular faith, and the occupation of land by assailants following forced displacement of indigenous groups indicate it has evolved into a campaign of ethno-religious cleansing.
These latest attacks are occurring ahead of crucial elections, and follow heightened concerns that the various armed non-state actors which currently target citizens across the country, and which were officially designated as terrorists in a January 2022 government Gazette, are planning to unleash a fresh wave violence on predominantly Christian areas in an effort to disenfranchise residents and disrupt the elections.
For example, on 5 February reports emerged that militia were exacting vengeance on Tiv communities in Nasarawa State for the 22 January drone strike on the border between Benue and Nasarawa states that claimed the lives of at least 38 Fulani herders, and were destroying villages and displacing thousands.
On 22 January four people were killed and three were injured in an attack on the Gambar Sabon Layi community of the predominantly Christian Tafawa Balewa LGA in Bauchi State which took place at around 3am.
In Benue state, an attack on the Abagena community on the outskirts of the capital, Makurdi, on 19 January at around 9pm, left nine people dead and eight fatally wounded. The area hosts a large camp for people displaced by militia violence. Two of the dead were internally displaced persons (IDPs), six were from the same family, and the head of one decapitated victim was carried away by the assailants, leaving a trail of blood in their wake.
CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: ‘CSW is appalled once again by the violence waged on vulnerable communities in central Nigeria’s on an almost daily basis. We extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones of those killed in these recent attacks, and wish the injured a full and swift recovery. It is unacceptable that these attacks continue unabated with no meaningful intervention from the state or federal government, particularly given their potential to disrupt voter engagement in the upcoming elections. States must challenge Nigeria’s government on these failures at every opportunity in bilateral and multilateral engagement. It is vital that the international community remains fully engaged in order to ensure these crucial elections are transparent and free from coercion and violence.’