By Emmanuel Onyedika
At least 23 people, including women and children, have been killed in a suspected reprisal attack on Bin-Per community in Kombun District, Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State.
The assault occurred less than 48 hours after Fulani residents were reportedly targeted in Jwak Maitumbi, also in Mangu LGA, where several residents were killed and about 45 homes destroyed.
According to counter-insurgency publication Zagazola Makama, suspected Fulani militias invaded Bin-Per in the early hours of Tuesday, entering through an isolated route from the neighbouring Bokkos axis.
A military source said troops were deployed after receiving reports but arrived after the attackers had withdrawn. Security personnel later recovered 16 bodies, while local officials and the Mwaghavul Youth Movement reported higher figures, putting the death toll at 23–24.
The discrepancy was attributed to ongoing searches, with residents still accounting for missing persons, the injured, and those displaced.
The incident has renewed concerns over escalating communal violence in Mangu and surrounding areas of Plateau State, where repeated cycles of attacks, reprisals, and destruction of livelihoods have left communities deeply vulnerable.
This tragedy underscores the urgent need for stronger security measures and peacebuilding efforts in the region.