Plateau communities raise alarm over renewed killings in Mangu

JOS— The Mwaghavul Development Association, MDA, has raised alarm over renewed violent attacks on communities in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, describing the latest incidents as ritualistic, gruesome and deeply disturbing.

In a statement by its National Director of Public Affairs, Friday Derwam, the MDA condemned the killing of a young man, Abalis Ishaku Dayong of Adep village in Panyam District, who was waylaid by armed assailants last Saturday.

Dayong was shot on the leg, stabbed multiple times, and later beheaded. His limbs were severed and taken away by the attackers,” Derwam said, warning that the pattern of killings bore ritualistic undertones.

He further alleged that kidnappings had become rampant in the Pushit axis of the council, where victims were often abducted for ransom, with some never returning alive.

“In certain cases, even the bodies of the dead were discovered mutilated,” he added.

Also, MDA’s President, Deacon Bulus Dabit, condemned the renewed violence, stressing that the attacks represent “a reversal of the fragile peace gradually returning to the area.”

He described the assaults as “an affront and a serious setback to government efforts in stabilising peace in Plateau State.”

The association said the attacks were deliberate attempts to erode the resilience of the Mwaghavul people and undermine their determination to maintain peace. “We stand firm and resolute, refusing to yield to these vicious tactics,” the MDA insisted.

Reiterating its support for the Plateau State Government’s advocacy for state policing, the group said decentralising the police system would provide enormous advantages in combating insecurity at the grassroots.

MDA also called on security agencies to be more proactive, impartial, and just in their operations, while demanding justice and accountability for those determined to displace the Mwaghavul people from their ancestral lands.