posted 14th April 2025
Over 40 Killed in Midnight Attack on Plateau Community in Nigeria
Jos, Nigeria – At least 40 people were killed in a brutal overnight assault on Zike community in Bassa, Plateau State, North-central Nigeria, as armed assailants unleashed terror in the early hours of Monday, 14 April. The attack, which lasted nearly two hours, left homes destroyed and survivors reeling, with many accusing security forces of failing to act despite prior warnings.
The raid targeted Zike in the Kwall district, roughly an hour’s drive from Jos, the state capital. Joseph Chudu Yonkpa, National Publicity Secretary of the Irigwe Youth Movement (IYM), confirmed the tragedy, noting that many of the injured are being treated at Jos University Teaching Hospital and other local facilities. “There is outrage in the land at the moment,” Yonkpa told journalists.
According to the IYM, the group had alerted residents and security operatives to a potential threat hours before the attack, but no action was taken to intercept the gunmen. “The security people only showed up this morning,” Yonkpa said. Efforts to reach Alfred Alubo, spokesperson for the Plateau State Police Command, for comment were unsuccessful.
The Zike massacre is the latest in a string of violent incidents plaguing Bassa. Over the past month, at least ten people have been killed in separate attacks, some while farming or travelling. “They come at night, raid houses, and kill people,” said Ruth Ki, a Bassa native and security analyst with Beacon Security Intelligence. “It is the same pattern of attacks.”
The IYM has pointed fingers at armed herders, accusing them of orchestrating a campaign to displace locals and seize fertile land. “Their cattle graze freely on hectares of our irrigated farms, destroying crops with impunity,” Yonkpa said. “Entire families have been rendered jobless and hungry.” IYM records claim the Irigwe ethnic group has endured over 2,866 attacks since 2001, resulting in at least 1,107 deaths and the destruction of more than 27,000 farms.
The violence extends beyond Bassa. In neighbouring Bokkos and Mangu, youth leaders report over 40 deaths since late March. Even senior officials have been targeted; a convoy carrying Samuel Jatau, Secretary to the State Government, was recently attacked in Bokkos.
Governor Caleb Mutfwang has condemned the killings as “genocidal,” alleging a deliberate plot to uproot indigenous communities for their fertile land, rich in crops and minerals. “There were no provocations or prior incidents to justify such violence,” he said. “These are terrorist organisations deliberately targeting our people.” He noted a recurring pattern: attacks disrupt planting at the start of the farming season and return to sabotage harvests.
Despite pledges of improved security from Nigerian Army Chief of Staff Olufemi Oluyede and National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, the violence shows no signs of abating. “The forces don’t have the capacity to cover every inch of the region,” Oluyede admitted, urging communities to find ways to coexist.
