A renewed wave of violence has struck Te’egbe community in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State, where a family of five was attacked by suspected Fulani militants while working on their farm. The incident, which occurred on Monday, June 23, 2025, resulted in the death of a mother and her two daughters. The remaining two family members, a couple, sustained severe machete and bullet wounds and were rushed to the Primary Health Care Centre before being transferred to Jos for further treatment.
Chairman of Bassa LGA, Dr. Joshua Sunday Ruti, disclosed the incident during an interview with journalists amid the visit of the Plateau State Government’s Fact-Finding Committee on Incessant Killings. He revealed that news of the attack came while the committee was in a closed-door meeting at the council headquarters.
“We are saddened and disheartened to record yet another tragic incident. During our meeting with the fact-finding committee, we received a distress call and had to immediately suspend the meeting. Upon arrival at the scene, we confirmed three deaths and two seriously injured individuals already taken for treatment,” Ruti stated.
He lamented the continued cycle of violence since 2001, questioning the motives of the attackers. “We keep asking what we did to deserve this. Only condemning the acts is not enough. We need justice and peace, because where there is no justice, there can be no peace — and without peace, there can be no development,” he added.
According to the Te’egbe Youth Leader, the assailants are suspected to have crossed into Bassa from the Kaduna border area. “In the last attack, they came from Kimis. Today’s attackers came from Baduru in Kaduna State. One of the victims left his phone behind while escaping, and when we called, the person who picked up spoke like Fulani people,” he alleged.
Chairman of the committee, Major General Nicholas Rogas (Rtd), condemned the killings and advised youths not to take laws into their hands.
“Yes, we’ve seen it for ourselves and heard from the people. This is the second place we are visiting—Kwall, in Bassa LGA. We’ve seen two mass graves: one here with about 54 victims and another where three people were recently killed. The destruction is evident, and we thank the governor for initiating this committee,” General Rogas said.
He urged the Bassa chairman to liaise with his counterpart in neighboring Kaduna State to establish a communication channel for security collaboration. “You must work together, and communities must prepare to defend themselves while assisting security agencies. The terrain is rough — even 2km can take over an hour. That delay costs lives.”
He stressed the importance of local vigilance. “You must establish internal early-warning systems to help stall attacks until reinforcements arrive.”
Publicity Secretary of the Irigwe Youth Movement and civil rights activist, Lawrence Zongo, also spoke at the event, decrying the continued killings.
“Since 2001, over 1,000 Irigwe people have been killed, with at least 200 in the last two years. Farmlands have been destroyed—over 1,000 hectares. Today, we aren’t harvesting crops but the dead,” Zongo lamented.
He noted that the Fulani ethnic militias are responsible for consistent attacks, often targeting women and children during farming seasons. “We currently have three corpses and two victims hospitalized. The painful part is that arrests are never made here, unlike in places like Mangu where suspects were immediately apprehended. That is injustice.”
Zongo also highlighted that a peace agreement previously formed under the “Brao” leadership has not been respected. “The agreement banned underage and night grazing and called for Fulani leaders to be held responsible for any attack. Yet nothing has been done.”
During the committee’s assessment tour of Fulani-dominated Duse Kura community, Fulani leaders called for an end to biased narratives in the media.
Ardo Bako of Duse Kura emphasized, “Every time there’s an attack on the Irigwe, the media generalizes and blames ‘Fulani’ — creating hate and division. Both Fulani and Irigwe people are being killed, yet only one side is often reported. We’ve buried our people too.”
He added, “We’ve worked with Irigwe people before and provided intelligence. We’re still willing to collaborate, but the divisions must end.”
Similarly, Ardo Wada Waziri of Miango lamented that growing distrust has alienated communities. “I have a farm my father bought in Bassa, but I dare not go there. Our cows are being killed, our people murdered. We want peace too.”
Jonah Jacob, a Rukuba man and Youth Leader in Duse Kura, shed light on recurring causes of conflict. “The truth is both Fulani and Irigwe break agreements. Night grazing on Irigwe farms leads to cow seizures or killings, prompting retaliation. Often, the cows are not owned by the herders themselves, so when something happens, the owners strike back. Drug use among youths also escalates tensions.”
Jacob stressed that these repeated infractions by both groups allow external forces to exploit the conflict, resulting in more killings.
The fact-finding committee also visited mass grave sites across Bassa, including:
- Kwall, where three individuals were ambushed and killed two weeks ago;
- Zike Community, where 54 people were buried after an unprovoked attack over two months ago;
- Miango, where over 40 victims of violence were buried.
The committee’s visits and interactions have underscored the need for urgent, collaborative, and sustained intervention to halt the spiraling violence in Bassa and its surrounding communities.
