•DEMANDS STRONGER GOVERNMENT INERVENTION

The Mwaghavul Development Association (MDA) has raised the alarm, claiming that more than 750 members of Mwaghavul communities have been killed in recurring violence since 2023. It demanded stronger government intervention in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State.

MDA said the violence had continued with the killing of more than 28 people within the last 10 days.

The association cited the deaths of 24 people at Bin Mper and the latest killing of Geofrey Kato Gumut at Kikyau Village.

Gumut was allegedly decapitated after armed attackers surrounded the community.

MDA claimed that residents searching for his missing head followed a trail of blood towards a nearby Fulani settlement, where they peacefully demanded its return before violence erupted.

The association's casualty figures, identification of the alleged attackers and account of the confrontation have not been independently verified.

MDA Director of Public Affairs Friday Derwam accused some social-media accounts of presenting an incomplete version of the Kikyau incident.

The association also rejected claims concerning ownership of parts of Mwaghavul territory, maintaining that no ancestral land had been legally transferred.

It called on security agencies to investigate the latest killings, protect vulnerable farming communities and prosecute those found responsible.