Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The killings began on Friday, September 11, 2026, and they did not stop until Sunday. By the time the violence subsided, four people were dead, one was fighting for his life in a hospital, and four communities in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State were left to bury their dead and ask why nothing had changed.
According to the Mwaghavul Youth Movement, the first victim was Geoffrey Gumut, a 55-year-old man who was beheaded in Kikyau, Mangu Halle District, on Friday. As of the time the group issued its statement on Sunday, his head had not been recovered. “His head hasn’t been recovered, adding an exceptionally horrific dimension to the tragedy,” the group said. The following night, gunmen attacked the Kinat community and killed 29-year-old Katbam Titus. On Saturday, Pius Dachen, 50, and Zadok Irmiya, 25, were killed in Ntul, Mangu District. In a separate incident in Larkas, Panyam District, 45-year-old Danjuma Kyesle was attacked and macheted. He remained in medical care as of Sunday, the sole survivor of a weekend of violence that the group described as “another painful reminder that armed attackers continue to find opportunities to inflict violence on Mwaghavul communities.”
The timing of the attacks has amplified the anger and confusion of the affected communities. The Kinat killing occurred only hours after the General Officer Commanding the 3 Division of the Nigerian Army visited Mangu and convened a security meeting with Mwaghavul and Fulani leaders. According to the Mwaghavul Youth Movement, the GOC called on both communities to end their differences and gave “a clear assurance that he would not watch any group attack another, promising that the Army would clamp down on any group responsible for further attacks.” The group added, “Yet, before the dust could settle on that engagement, Kinat was attacked and a young Mwaghavul man, Katbam Titus, was killed and this cannot simply be ignored.”
The Plateau State Police Command and the military’s Operation Safe Haven, which oversees security in the state, have not issued a detailed public statement on the attacks. A spokesperson for Operation Safe Haven could not be reached for comment at the time of filing this report. The police had not confirmed the identities of the victims or announced any arrests as of Sunday evening. The absence of an official response has left communities relying on the accounts of the Mwaghavul Youth Movement and the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, which have provided the most detailed accounts of what happened.
The attacks in Mangu are the latest in a series of violent incidents that have turned Plateau State into one of the most dangerous places in Nigeria. The state has been plagued by a long-running conflict between farming communities and herders, a conflict that has killed thousands, displaced hundreds of thousands, and defied every attempt at resolution. In June 2025, more than 100 people were killed in Yelewata, Guma Local Government Area. In August 2026, armed men attacked Ungushi community in Kebbe Local Government Area of Sokoto State and killed at least 28 people, including an imam. In September 2026, a Ghanaian-Nigerian pastor and four others were killed in coordinated attacks in Plateau State. The pattern is depressingly familiar: attacks, funerals, promises of action, and then more attacks.
The Mwaghavul Youth Movement has called on the Federal Government, the Plateau State Government, the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Police Force, and other security agencies to strengthen protection for residents and disrupt armed groups operating in the area. It also urged Fulani leaders who participated in the GOC’s meeting to help identify and discourage armed elements within their own communities. “Four incidents. Four communities. Multiple victims. It is another painful reminder that armed attackers continue to find opportunities to inflict violence on Mwaghavul communities,” the group said. It questioned the security authorities over the recurring attacks, asking, “How many more attacks must occur before those responsible are decisively dealt with?” It accused armed elements of seeking to “undermine peace efforts and keep communities in a perpetual state of fear,” adding that whenever dialogue was initiated and assurances given, another attack occurred, creating the impression that perpetrators could continue their operations “without meaningful consequences.”
The group also raised specific concerns about the Larkas incident, alleging that security personnel were present in the community when the attack took place. “Where there are allegations of negligence, compromise or failure of duty, such allegations must be investigated objectively,” the statement read. The GOC’s visit to Mangu was intended to signal the military’s commitment to ending the violence and holding perpetrators accountable. The killing of Katbam Titus hours after that meeting has raised serious questions about whether that commitment can be translated into action. The Mwaghavul Youth Movement said the speed with which the attacks followed the meeting made it impossible to overlook. It reminded the GOC of his commitment during his engagement in Mangu, quoting him as saying, “I will not watch any group attack another. The Army would clamp down on those responsible for further attacks.” It said the Kinat attack “now provides an immediate opportunity for the GOC to demonstrate that commitment.”
The violence in Mangu has also had an economic dimension. On Saturday, suspected armed militia attacked Fulani herders in the Aloghom area of Mangu Local Government Area, killing three young herders and shooting dead about 50 cattle. The victims were identified as Garzali Shaibu, 18; Bashiru Yakubu, 14; and Salim Abubakar, 15. The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria condemned the attack as “unprovoked” and a “calculated attempt to cleanse Fulani herders and destroy their means of livelihood in Plateau.” The state chairman of MACBAN, Ibrahim Yusuf Babayo, said the herders were tending to their cattle when the attackers opened fire. The three slain herders were buried on Sunday morning in Mangu Town. The funeral prayer was conducted at the Mangu Central Mosque and led by Imam Jibrin Ahmad Dalhat. Muhammad Salihu, Secretary of MACBAN in Mangu, called on youths to remain calm and not take the law into their own hands. “What is happening to us is a test for us as believers. We should calm ourselves down and not panic,” he said. He also called on the government and security agencies to look into the incessant killing of their members and the destruction of their property. “Around that axis alone, our people have experienced over 11 attacks and nothing has been done,” he said.
The attacks in Mangu are a reminder that the security crisis in Plateau State is not a problem that can be solved through meetings and assurances alone. The people of Kikyau, Kinat, Ntul and Larkas have buried their dead. The family of Geoffrey Gumut is still searching for his head. Danjuma Kyesle is still in a hospital bed. And the community is still waiting for the security agencies to deliver on their promise to protect them. The question that hangs over Plateau State is the one the Mwaghavul Youth Movement asked: how many more attacks must occur before those responsible are decisively dealt with?
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