The death toll from the brutal attack on Monday night, which claimed no fewer than 20 people in Ta-Hoss District of Riyom Local Government of Plateau State, has risen to 32.
Bandits, suspected to be members of the Fulani militia, stormed the community around 11.00 pm, launching a house-to-house rampage on the residents as they left.
Survivors described the scene as a calculated slaughter with entire families caught off guard in their homes. They said women, children and the elderly, who were unable to flee, were among those massacred.
Sources said that the assailants were heavily armed, moving with military style coordination. Several homes were set ablaze, and many victims sustained critical injuries while attempting to escape into surrounding bushes and rocky terrain.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, Gideon Manjal and Gadu Daniel Dong, Chairman and Publicity Secretary of the Riyom Chapter of the Coalition for the Protection of Democracy (COPDEM), condemned the massacre as a premeditated attack.
“These were not random criminals. They were Fulani extremists, well known to the community. This attack mirrors numerous others in Riyom and beyond, carried out with impunity,” the statement added.
On Tuesday evening, community youth leader Dauda Dung confirmed that seven more bodies had been recovered from the surrounding forest. At the same time, five of the injured succumbed to their wounds and died at local hospitals, raising the death toll to 32.
“Some victims remain in critical condition. So, unfortunately, the toll would still rise. We are pleading with the government and security agencies to act before more lives are lost.
“This is not the first time we have been attacked, and if nothing changes, it will not be the last,” Dung said.
The massacre has triggered renewed calls for federal intervention, with civil society groups and lawmakers demanding that President Bola Tinubu’s administration reassess its security posture in central Nigeria.
