‘Failure to equip trained community police with firearms fuels attacks’ – Tribal Advocates
By Lawrence Zongo
After the traumatic siege on May 9th the Berom-tribe worshipers in the town of Barkin Ladi weren’t’ in the mood for the usual.
Some worship services were postponed, and those that met were cut short, locals told TruthNigeria. On Saturday, hundreds of radicalized gunmen on motor bikes circled the town 25 miles south of Jos spraying bullets for hours, looking for an easy way to get in. Defending the perimeter were 40 mobile policemen and approximately 60 volunteers armed with locally made shotguns. For reasons still unclear, soldiers in the local Forward Operating Base did not join the defense until 8:00 p.m., local sources told TruthNigeria.
Fulani Ethnic militias were stopped from taking over the town, but eight Christians, including a police inspector were killed and 11 locals wounded during coordinated assaults that forced residents to flee their homes.
Residents said the attacks began around 6:30 p.m. on May 9 when militia armed with assault rifles invaded Sabon Layi, Rakung, Gangare, and communities around the General Hospital area of Zat and Bet in Barkin Ladi South of Jos.
Witnesses reported prolonged gunfire across the area as families ran into nearby bushes and neighboring communities seeking safety.
Community leaders accused Fulani terrorists of converging on motorcycles and on foot while shooting sporadically at civilians and residential areas.
David Nanpet, an eyewitness and documenter with the International Committee on Nigeria (ICON), told TruthNigeria that local defenders lacked defensive equipment.
“Our greatest challenge is the lack of equipment necessary for protecting the people,” Nanpet said. “Despite this, people are still willing to defend their communities with the last drop of their blood.”
Nanpet said churches across Barkin Ladi either shortened worship services or cancelled them entirely due to the bullets. According to him, the chairman of the Regional Church Council in the area, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, confirmed that worship services were cut short.
“Some churches managed to hold brief services, while others could not gather at all because of the situation on the ground,” Nanpet said.
Efforts to contact local volunteer guards, (vigilante groups) proved difficult because many had gone into hiding while monitoring movements around the affected villages.
Nanpet confirmed that seven people were initially killed during the attacks, while at least 11 others sustained injuries and were receiving treatment at a local hospital.
A Plateau State community police official also criticized the lack of support given to local security structures established under a paramilitary group dubbed Operation Rainbow that is unarmed.
The official, who spoke to TruthNigeria on condition of anonymity, said more than 100 community police personnel had received training but had not been equipped with firearms.
“As I speak, there are fears of more attacks, and these officers do not even have the means to defend themselves,” the official said.
He further alleged that local vigilantes are frequently arrested for possessing homemade weapons, while armed militants carrying assault rifles often move without arrest.
Residents in Barkin Ladi said the attacks have deepened fear among farming communities already struggling with repeated violence across Plateau State’s rural areas.
The latest assault follows months of recurring attacks in Barkin Ladi, Riyom, Bassa, Bokkos, and Mangu local government areas, where gunmen have repeatedly targeted villages, destroyed farmlands, and displaced families.
In a statement issued after the attacks, the Berom Youth Moulders-Association condemned what it described as continued security failures despite the presence of military checkpoints and security personnel across Barkin Ladi town.
The statement, signed by the group’s National Publicity Secretary, Rwang Tengwong, said bodies recovered from the attacks had been deposited at a mortuary by 1:00 a.m. On Sunday, several injured victims remained hospitalized, but the hospital had exhausted its stocks of morphine and anesthesia.
The association renewed its earlier vote of no confidence in some personnel attached to Operation Enduring Peace, specifically naming Sector 4 Commander Colonel Victor Asuquo and Operations Officer Captain Bello. Some in the community theorized that the military had stood down to punish the local critics.
“Communities continue to come under coordinated attacks in broad daylight and at night without any swift or effective response from security operatives,” the statement read.
“Residents now live in constant fear while armed attackers move freely across communities unleashing violence on innocent civilians.”
Tengwong also criticized inadequate humanitarian support for survivors and bereaved families in affected villages. According to the association, residents are often left to evacuate bodies after attacks without emergency assistance or medical support.
Plateau State, located in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, has experienced 25 years of assault, killing of Christians in farming communities, land grabbing, farmland destruction by Fulani ethnic militias who are more dangerous than Islamic terror groups such as Boko Haram” said Nanpet.
Lawrence Zongo is a Conflict Reporter for TruthNigeria
