At Least 51 Killed in Plateau State as Gunmen Attack Christian Farming Community
- Victor Nwoko
- Apr 15
- 3 min read
At least 51 people were confirmed killed and many others injured after gunmen launched a deadly assault on Zike Kimakpa community in Kwall District of Irigwe Chiefdom, Bassa Local Government Area (LGA) of Plateau State, Nigeria. The attack occurred in the early hours of Monday, April 14, 2025.
President Bola Tinubu condemned the violence, stating that the perpetrators, believed to be armed Muslim herders, targeted the predominantly Christian farming community in the north-central region. He ordered security agencies to investigate the attack and identify those responsible. "I have instructed security agencies to thoroughly investigate this crisis and identify those responsible for orchestrating these violent acts," the president said, offering condolences to the victims and their families.
The attackers reportedly invaded the village in the dead of night, opening fire on unsuspecting residents. Community leader Wakili Tongwe confirmed that he and local vigilantes were on patrol in a neighboring village when the attackers struck. By the time they returned, the community had been left in ruins, with at least 30 homes burned to the ground.
Amnesty International reported that the victims included children and the elderly, many of whom were caught off guard and unable to escape. Local resident Andy Yakubu estimated that the death toll could exceed 50, and said homes were looted and destroyed. No arrests have been made as of yet.
The attack is the latest in a series of violent incidents in Plateau State, where longstanding tensions between nomadic Fulani herders—who are mostly Muslim—and Christian farming communities continue to erupt into deadly confrontations over land and water access. The Fulani have frequently been accused of carrying out mass killings in the region, exacerbating religious and ethnic divisions.
Amnesty reported that between December 2023 and February 2024, at least 1,336 people were killed in Plateau State, indicating that current government security efforts have been largely ineffective. According to Samuel Jugo, spokesperson of the Irigwe Development Association, at least 75 members of the Irigwe ethnic group have been killed since December 2024 alone.
Plateau State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Joyce Ramnap, condemned the attack as another blow to the fragile peace in the region. “It is sad that in less than two weeks after our people were killed in Bokkos Local Government, this sad incident is reoccurring in another community in Bassa Local Government,” she said, warning that these repeated attacks threaten the survival of peaceful communities in the state.
Governor Caleb Mutfwang also expressed deep concern over what he described as a “genocidal mission” aimed at grabbing land and eliminating native populations. He vowed that his administration would decisively deal with those found responsible. The commissioner urged residents not to carry out reprisals and called on security agencies to act swiftly.
The region remains highly volatile, where decades-old tensions between ethnic groups and disputes over land continue to fuel violence. In May 2024, a similar attack on remote Plateau villages claimed at least 40 lives. In response, troops under Operation Safe Haven and Operation Lafiyan Jamaa recently foiled coordinated militia attacks on five other Plateau communities, including Tamiso, Daffo, Manguna, Taddai, and Hurti.
While distinct from the ongoing insurgency by Boko Haram in the country’s northeast, the crisis in central Nigeria is becoming increasingly deadly, drawing attention to the broader instability facing Africa’s most populous nation.
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