A resident of the Kogul community, Sunday Dalyop, who confirmed the latest killings to The PUNCH in Jos on Friday, also said that that the gunmen burnt several houses in the locality and injured several others.
Dalyop said, “Our people are presently in pain in Mangu because five people were killed, others injured and many houses burned by Fulani Milias in Kogul Community of Panyam District in the LGA
“The militiamen arrived in the community at about 09:00 pm on 06/07/2023, they started shooting in different directions at the end 5 people were confirmed dead and many houses burned. The people are expressing concern as to why security agencies couldn’t do anything to make arrests and bring to an end this continuing attack on innocent farmers in the Council Area.”
The spokesman for the Plateau State Police Command, Alabo Alfred, was not readily available when contacted on the incident by our correspondent
But a former governor of the state, Fidelis Tapgun, in an interview described the series of attacks in the state as very pathetic.
He subsequently advised the federal and state governments to collaborate with the local communities and invest in information gathering so as to bring the ugly situation to an end.
Tapgun said, “The security situation in Plateau state is a very unfortunate one and my heart goes out to the families of the victims. But I don’t know how the security architecture in the state is presently organized but whatever it is, there is the need for it to be reviewed.
“Before I became governor, I grew up in the civil service and served as the Secretary of the Local Government in the state as well as the Sole Administrator up to the Cabinet Office where I served in Special Services Department and the Security Department. What I know at that time was that in the 1980s, every LGA chairman was the Chief Security Officer in his LGA. And in every LGA, there was a security committee headed by the chairman and comprises of various groups including traditional rulers, ward heads, market traders association, DPOs, DSS, and taxi drivers who meet every Monday of the week.
“These groups hunt for Information happening in their various areas and reports were received from these categories of groups such that if there was going to be any problem or security breach of any kind, you get the information immediately and be able to address the issue. And then all the reports were summarised and sent back to the LGAs from where they get to the state government through the office of the Secretary to the State Government for onward dispatch to the office of the National Security Adviser. Such security arrangement worked effectively during the 80s and I think there is the need for the current administration to revisit that model and reintroduce it for the safety of our people in Plateau state and Nigeria at large”
The governorship candidate of the Zenith Labour Party, ZLP, in Osun State, Olufemi Adesuyi, has called on security agencies to intensify efforts aimed at preventing further political violence ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
Adesuyi made the appeal in a statement issued in Osogbo on Wednesday, where he expressed concern over the recent increase in violent incidents across the state and urged law enforcement authorities to act decisively against perpetrators.
He urged the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies operating in Osun to be proactive in maintaining law and order during the election period.
According to him, “those involved in violent acts should be arrested and prosecuted regardless of their political affiliations.”
The ZLP candidate said the growing trend of killings and politically linked violence posed a threat to public safety and democratic governance in the state.
He warned that allowing such incidents to continue unchecked could affect the credibility of the forthcoming governorship poll.
Adesuyi stated, “The trend of these killings, if left unchecked, will threaten the peace and democratic values in this state. That will definitely affect the credibility of the forthcoming August 15 gubernatorial election.”
He added that politics should remain a contest of ideas and service rather than a struggle that endangers lives.
“We must not allow desperation to turn our democracy into a bloodbath. The rate at which political violence is spreading in Osun is worrisome. No position, no matter how highly placed, is worth wasting human blood for,” he said.
The governorship hopeful also appealed to politicians across party lines to conduct their campaigns peacefully and place the interest of Osun State above partisan considerations.
He said, “politicians must understand that power is transient. You cannot achieve your ambition by shedding the blood of innocent people.
“Let us campaign with decorum, respect our opponents, and allow the people to decide freely.”
Calling for restraint before, during and after the election, Adesuyi stressed that political differences should not lead to hostility among residents.
“Election is not war. Let us conduct ourselves peacefully, responsibly, and with respect for one another before, during, and after the election. Political differences should never make us enemies,” he said.
He encouraged eligible voters not to be discouraged by security concerns but to participate actively in the electoral process, while also seeking support for his governorship ambition.
The appeal comes amid heightened concern over violent crimes in Osun State, which recently prompted a visit by the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday f2026 arraigned Mr. Ahmed Adamu Dikko, former Managing Director of Port Harcourt Refining Company Ltd (PHRC), before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on a 12-count charge bordering on money laundering.
The charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/360/2026 and dated and filed on June 22 by the Commission’s counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, listed Dikko and Masterpiece Projects & Investment Limited as first and second defendants respectively.
Dikko, who led the Port Harcourt Refining Company for about four years, pleaded not guilty to a 12-count charge filed against him by the Commission on Wednesday, July 8, 2026.
The EFCC accused Dikko of laundering N1,322,839,112.7 (One Billion, Three Hundred and Twenty-Two Million, Eight Hundred and Thirty-nine Thousand, One Hundred and Twelve Naira, Seven Kobo) in proceeds allegedly linked to contractors engaged by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery, through cash property purchases, undisclosed bank retentions, third-party fund concealment and unauthorised currency conversion, in violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Count one reads in part: “That you AHMED ADAMU DIKKO… did directly make cash payment of the dollar equivalent of the sum of N218,375,000.00 to one Hadeija Bashir for the purchase of Plot 558, Abubakar Umar Street, Katampe Extension, Abuja without passing through a financial Institution and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Sections 2(1)(a), 19(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and punishable under Section 19(2)(b) of the same Act.”
Count eight reads: “That you AHMED ADAMU DIKKO, former Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refining Company Ltd (PHRC) on or about the 26th of June, 2023 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court disguised the origin of the sum of N328,710,337.50 (Three Hundred and Twenty Eight Million, Seven Hundred and Ten Thousand, Three Hundred and Thirty Seven Naira, Fifty Kobo) paid into the GTBank Account Plc No. 0123201507 operated by Masterpiece Projects & Investment Limited by OMSA Integrated Services Limited from the transactions involving NNPC Limited allocation of Vacuum Gas Oil for export when you knew that the said sum of N328,710,337.50 constituted proceeds of unlawful activity and you thereby committed an offence contrary Section 18(2) (a) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
Count eleven reads: “That you AHMED ADAMU DIKKO between October, 2022 and May, 2025 did convert the aggregate sum of $77,080 through Ibrahim Isa Yaro which amount did not form part of your known lawful earnings as a former public officer with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and punishable under Section 18(3) of the same Act.”
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to him.
Thereafter, counsel to the defendant, Okechukwu Ajunwa, SAN urged the court to grant the defendant bail pending the determination of the suit. Iheanacho, however, opposed the bail application.
In his ruling on the bail application, Justice Ekwo granted the defendant bail in the sum of N150,000,000 (One Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) with a surety who must be resident within the jurisdiction of the court and with a landed property valued at not less than the bail sum. He ordered that the defendant be remanded in the custody of the EFCC pending when he’s able to meet the bail conditions.
The matter was therefore adjourned to October 12, 13 and 14, 2026 for trial.