The Governor of Plateau State, Caleb Mutfwang, has condemned the killing of at least 27 people in the Riyom Local Government Area, declaring an end to what he described as the impunity of “unknown gunmen” in the region.
Speaking during a visit to Bindi-Jebbu, the farming community ravaged by the attack on Monday, Mutfwang expressed deep frustration that such a massacre could take place despite prior intelligence reports warning of the assault.
“Sadly, we got intelligence for this attack, yet it still happened,” the governor said. “I’m calling on the security agencies to redouble their efforts; we need to reappraise our strategy and tactics.”
He issued a stern warning to the security forces, saying they must abandon the narrative of faceless attackers and apprehend those responsible. “How can people come and kill others in their homes, and we say they are not known? The perpetrators must be arrested. The era of unknown gunmen is over.”
Mutfwang reminded security operatives of their constitutional duty to protect lives and property, insisting they are not in the region for peacekeeping but for active defence. “Anybody threatening the lives of Nigerians is an enemy of the state and must be dealt with accordingly,” he added.
The massacre — which claimed the lives of men, women, and children — is the latest in a long line of bloody attacks in the Middle Belt, often linked to long-running conflicts between farming communities and nomadic herders, including suspected Fulani militias.
The governor pledged the state’s full support to survivors and announced plans for coordinated mass burials, while assuring residents that his administration would not abandon the community in its time of grief.
Earlier, local leaders voiced their anger and distrust of the special military task force stationed in the area. Reverend Davou Musa, chairman of the COCIN Regional Church Council in Riyom, accused soldiers of being compromised, claiming they were more concerned with the welfare of Fulani cattle than that of local residents.
“I told the GOC yesterday, and I will repeat it: his men are supporting the Fulani, even in grazing and the destruction of farmlands,” Musa said.
Youth leader Ezekiel Davou, while thanking the governor for his visit, appealed for urgent intervention to help the displaced rebuild their homes and restore livelihoods.
“Despite the horror of the attacks, we are determined to stay and rebuild. Riyom is our ancestral home—we have nowhere else to go,” he said.
As residents mourn yet another mass killing in Nigeria’s embattled heartland, pressure is mounting on federal and military authorities to confront the worsening insecurity and bring those responsible to justice.
