Suspected Muslim Gunmen killed at least six people, including a Nigerian soldier, in separate attacks on communities in Plateau state, Nigeria.  

The attacks occurred on Sunday night, Nov. 8, in Bel village, Sho community, Barkin Ladi Local Government Area (LGA), and Lakas community in Panyam, near the Mangu-Pankshin border in Mangu LGA. 

Four people, including three civilians and a soldier, were reportedly killed when gunmen stormed Bel village at about 9 p.m. and opened fire. 

A resident of Bel village, Bulus Bot, who confirmed the attack to International Christian Concern (ICC), said several people also sustained gunshot injuries.  

The attack forced residents to seek safety as gunfire rang through the community. He said the attackers are Islamic Fulani herders who want to take over their land. 

Rwang Tengwong, publicity secretary of the Berom Youth Moulders Association (BYM), confirmed the killings and identified three of the civilian victims as Emmanuel Pam Dachung, 15; Joseph Gyang, 28; and Emmanuel Yohanna, 32. The soldier has not been publicly identified.

According to a six-year study conducted by the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA), Islamic Fulani militias are by far the deadliest persecutors of Christians in Nigeria. The network of militias is responsible for four times more civilian deaths than the two prominent Islamic terror organizations, Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), combined. 

The study’s findings challenge the commonly held belief that the two organized terror groups kill the larger number of Christians, highlighting the Fulani network’s expanded efforts to target Christians. 

A Second Attack 

Two additional people were reportedly killed in a separate attack on the Lakas community in Panyam, bringing the reported death toll from the two incidents to at least six.  

“Muslim Fulani stopped us from going to the farm to harvest our crops, and we are now afraid to go to the church to worship,” Mathias said. “Nigerian authorities failed to protect us.” 

Tengwong told ICC that no arrests had been made following either attack. He specifically accused the Nigerian Army of failing to apprehend any of the suspected Fulani attackers. 

Tengwong condemned the killings and called on security agencies to identify and arrest those responsible, warning that the failure to apprehend attackers could leave surrounding communities exposed to further violence. 

Residents and eyewitnesses alleged that Fulani extremists carried out the attacks, targeting predominantly Christian communities.  

Some residents described the assaults as part of a pattern of violence aimed at taking over ancestral lands and forcing indigenous populations from their communities. These allegations could not be independently verified. 

The latest attacks add to continuing reports of armed assaults against rural communities in Plateau, particularly in Barkin Ladi, Bassa, Riyom, and Mangu local government areas, where Christian farming communities have repeatedly reported killings, destruction of property, displacement, and threats to their livelihoods. 

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