By Our Reporter
Suspected gunmen have carried out fresh attacks on several villages in Chakfem district of Mangu Local Government Area, Plateau State, leaving at least 15 people dead and hundreds displaced.
The assailants stormed about seven communities on Monday night, including Manden, Join, Jiblang, Koppang, Mihdihin and Jilem, killing residents, burning houses and carting away livestock. Many victims, including women and children, sustained varying degrees of injuries and are receiving treatment at COCIN Hospital, Mwar-Chakfem.
Confirming the incident, the National President of the Mwaghavul Development Association (MDA), Mr. Bulus Dabit, explained that details of the attack were delayed because of the inaccessibility of the affected areas.
According to him, the onslaught took place between 7:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., when most villagers were already asleep. “The injured people are currently receiving treatment at COCIN Hospital- Mwar-Chakfem,” he said.
Dabit added that the gunmen not only razed several homes but also destroyed the residence of the traditional ruler and his official vehicle.
He lamented that those who could not escape were killed, while others managed to flee into surrounding communities.
“After the attack, we were not able to get to the villages because of the nature of the terrain,” he explained, stressing that security agencies could only access the areas on Tuesday, hours after the attackers had withdrawn.
Chakfem district, which borders Quanpan Local Government Area and parts of Nasarawa State, has remained a recurring hotspot for violent raids. The porous terrain, Dabit noted, provides the attackers with multiple entry points, allowing them to “carry out their heinous act without any obstacle.”
He therefore urged the federal government to act decisively, warning that the continued assaults risk wiping out entire communities.
“Unless the federal government does something urgently to protect the helpless communities, they will suffer total annihilation,” he cautioned, describing the repeated incidents as “not normal” and reflective of a deliberate campaign.
