The d3ath toll from Monday night’s brutal assault on Jebbu Binde village in the Ta-Hoss District of Riyom Local Government Area, Plateau State, has climbed to 32, up from the initially reported 20 casualties.
The attackers—suspected to be members of a Fulani militia—stormed the community around 11:00 p.m., launching a house-to-house rampage as residents slept.
Survivors described the scene as a calculated slaughter, with entire families caught off guard in their homes. Women, children, and the elderly—many unable to flee—were among those k!lled.
Local sources said the assailants were heavily armed, moving with military-style coordination. Several homes were set ablaze, and many victims sustained critical injuries while attempting to escape into surrounding bushes and rocky terrain.
In a joint statement, Gideon Manjal and Gadu Daniel Dong, Chairman and Publicity Secretary of the Riyom chapter of the Coalition for the Protection of Democracy (COPDEM), condemned the massacre as a premeditated attack echoing a pattern of unpunished violence across the region.
“These were not random criminals,” the COPDEM leaders said. “They were Fulani extremists, well-known to the community. This attack mirrors numerous others in Riyom and beyond, carried out with impunity.”
On Tuesday evening, community youth leader Dauda Dung confirmed that seven more bodies had been recovered from the surrounding forest, while five of the injured succumbed to their wounds at local hospitals—raising the total number of d3aths to 32.
“Some victims remain in critical condition, so unfortunately the toll could still rise,” Dung said. “We’re pleading with the government and security agencies to act before more lives are lost. This isn’t the first time we’ve been attacked, and if nothing changes, it won’t be the last.”
The Plateau region, part of Nigeria’s volatile Middle Belt, has long been a flashpoint for ethno-religious conflict—often fueled by land disputes between nomadic herders and farming communities. But residents and rights groups warn that these attacks have become increasingly organized and ideologically driven, suggesting deeper political and security failures.
The massacre has triggered renewed calls for federal intervention, with civil society groups and lawmakers demanding that President Bola Tinubu’s administration reassess its security posture in central Nigeria.
Despite years of military and police deployments, communities in Plateau, Benue, Kaduna, and neighboring states continue to face relentless attacks with little warning or consequence for the perpetrators.
As funerals begin and survivors count their losses, many in Jebbu Binde and beyond are left asking the same haunting question: How many more must die before action is taken?
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