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Tragedy has struck again in Plateau State as suspected herdsmen killed 13 people in attacks on Juwan and Manja communities in Bokkos and Mangu Local Government Areas of the state.
The attackers also burnt down houses, killing mostly women and the elderly in the process.
The first incident occurred in the late hours of Thursday, June 19, 2025, when the gunmen invaded Juwan in the Tangur District of Bokkos LGA, leaving 10 persons dead and others sustaining serious injuries.
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On the same evening, three persons were killed in Manja, Chafem Chiefdom of Mangu Local Government Area.
The Juwan victims were tilling the grounds and tending their farmland when the attackers caught them unaware and killed them. In contrast, others escaped after the intervention of security operatives who reacted to a distress call from those who scampered for safety.
Confirming the incident, the Bokkos LA Chairman, Amalau Samuel, described the attack as barbaric and inhuman.
“The attackers came late at night and started killing innocent people. They were going from house to house, and where they could not gain entrance, they broke through the ceiling,” Samuel said.
“Those affected mostly are the aged and children who could not run, while those agile fled for safety.”
Gunmen hit Manja
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Massive killings and destruction of over 100 lives and millions worth of properties of Plateau state citizens.
In the Manja incident, the assailants killed three persons on the farm, setting fire to over twenty houses before the intervention of security operatives.
Mathew Kwarpo, Plateau State House of Assembly member representing Mangu South, confirmed that gunmen invaded Manja and killed three people before a combined effort of security men and the youths repelled them.
The lawmaker said the marauders later launched another attack on the same day, during which they burned down over twenty houses.
According to Kwarpo, members of the community had to flee for safety as the attackers outnumbered them.
“In the second attack, there was no casualty, but the people are already displaced. So, we are appealing to both the state and federal governments to come to our aid.
“The attacks in recent times on our communities are just too much. Anytime they issued notice of an attack, they would fulfill it.
“The security men are no doubt trying their best, but they are being overpowered. This is a calculated attempt to seize our land from us and to occupy our land illegally. So we are calling on President Tinubu to intervene,” he said.
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In recent times, communities in Bokkos, Bassa, and Mangu local government areas of Plateau State have become a hotspot of increased violent attacks from gunmen suspected to be rogue herdsmen, resulting in the loss of hundreds of lives.
The Plateau attack comes amid public outrage over a similar pattern of killings in Benue State, where over 200 residents were murdered by suspected herders.