Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Former Vice‑President Atiku Abubakar has declared that the repeated massacres in Plateau State are no longer ordinary communal attacks but bear “the signature of organised terrorism”, and he squarely blamed the administration of President Bola Tinubu for lacking an effective strategy to stop the bloodshed.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Thursday, 7 May 2026 through his media adviser, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the pattern of attacks in Plateau communities now follows a terrifying rhythm: armed men descend on a village, kill families, return the next day to shoot mourners at the burial, and then melt away before security forces can respond. The former vice‑president argued that this pattern exposes the absence of a coherent counter‑terrorism policy under the current government and amounts to a constitutional failure to protect citizens.
Attack on Nding Susut: A Family of Five Killed
The immediate trigger for Atiku’s outburst was a late‑night assault on the Nding Susut community in the Fan district of Barkin‑Ladi Local Government Area. Around 9 p.m. on Tuesday, 5 May 2026, gunmen stormed the village and opened fire on residents sitting in front of their homes. Plateau police spokesman Alfred Alabo confirmed that four women and a nine‑year‑old boy were killed instantly, while three other female victims sustained injuries and were taken to the General Hospital for treatment.
A community member, Weng Christopher, described the incident as “alarming and distressing”, adding that residents now live in constant fear. The Berom Youth Moulders Association (BYM) later said that the attackers had also tried to invade Rim community in neighbouring Riyom LGA on the same night but were driven back by vigilantes and personnel of Operation Rainbow, the state‑owned security outfit.
Gunmen Attack Mourners the Next Day
Even more shocking, the gunmen reportedly returned to Nding Susut on Wednesday, 6 May 2026, while the community was holding a mass burial for the five victims. Witnesses said the mourners, who had already dug a collective grave, were forced to hastily inter the bodies as shots rang out. Atiku described this as a “damning indictment” of the government’s failure to respond swiftly to distress calls. “That attackers could reportedly return to the same community barely 24 hours later to unleash another round of bloodshed is a damning indictment of the government’s failure to respond swiftly to distress calls and secure vulnerable communities,” he said.
The BYM clarified that a total of seven people, not five, had been killed in the initial assault, and that the community had been burying them when the second attack occurred. Police authorities did not immediately confirm the attack on the burial, but the outrage from residents was unambiguous. A youth leader who spoke on condition of anonymity told reporters that “the hills around us are full of armed men, and they come down whenever they like. We are tired of burying our children in fear”.
Our Grief Is No Longer Sacred, Atiku Says
In his statement, Atiku said the double massacre had shown that even burial ceremonies were no longer safe in Nigeria. “What is happening is no longer random violence. It is a recurring pattern of coordinated terror attacks against vulnerable communities,” he said. The former vice‑president accused the Tinubu government of treating Plateau’s bloodshed with “condolences without protection, and outrage without action”. He recalled that President Tinubu had avoided visiting the actual sites of the March 2026 massacre in Jos North, staying instead in the secure confines of the state government house during his visit to Plateau on 2 April. “Leadership demands more than carefully staged appearances; it demands empathy, courage, and decisive action,” Atiku said.
Citing official records and reports, Atiku noted that more than 2,500 people had been killed in Plateau State between 2023 and 2025 alone. “These are not mere statistics. They are fathers, mothers, children, farmers, worshippers, and breadwinners whose lives have been cut short while government continues to grope in the dark for solutions,” he added.
Plateau Government: “These Are Acts of Terrorism, Not Clashes”
Governor Caleb Mutfwang has avoided direct confrontation with the federal government over the attacks but has strongly supported the classification of the violence as terrorism. In an interview on News Central, Mutfwang said: “What is happening in places like Mangu, Bokkos and Barkin Ladi are not mere communal clashes; these are acts of terrorism, and we will treat them as such”. The governor also linked the upsurge in violence to political calculations ahead of the 2027 elections, alleging that “the homogeneous communities of the Middle Belt have quietly resolved that by 2027, they will take their destinies into their own hands, and that is unsettling some elements within the political elite”.
Mutfwang vowed that his administration would not be passive. “Killings won’t continue. Plateau cannot remain a theatre of bloodshed,” he declared, while also calling for a more robust and intelligence-driven federal intervention.
Security Response
The Plateau State Police Command condemned the Tuesday night attack as “senseless” and said the Commissioner of Police, Bassey Ewah, had deployed additional tactical teams, including mobile police personnel, to Barkin‑Ladi to strengthen patrols, intelligence gathering, and rapid response. The police assured residents that investigations were ongoing and that they were working with other security agencies and community leaders to track down the perpetrators. As of Friday evening, no arrests had been announced, and the area remained tense. Traditional rulers in Fan district pleaded with the army to set up a permanent post on the hilltops overlooking the valley, but military spokespersons did not immediately respond to the request.
In his conclusion, Atiku called on the federal government, security agencies, and the Plateau State Government to adopt a comprehensive strategy to halt the killings and restore public confidence. “The people of Plateau State deserve safety, justice, and peace — not endless mourning and empty political rhetoric,” he said.
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