Any Solution in Sight to Incessant Security Breaches on the Plateau?

Recent violence recorded in parts of  Plateau State has once again exposed the fragility of its security architecture, after gunmen killed five people and injured two at Mangu’s Friday market, an attack that came few hours after Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu, pledged renewed action to stem recurring assaults. Yemi Kosoko reports.

Plateau State is once again confronting the grim reality of a security architecture buckling under relentless pressure. In the days following Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu’s high profile visit to the state, with an engagement meant to signal renewed federal resolve in communities across Jos South, Mangu, Bokkos, Barkin Ladi and Riyom that have suffered a fresh wave of coordinated attacks that left at least several people dead and properties destroyed.

The killings, which unfolded within hours and across multiple local government areas, have deepened public anxiety and raised troubling questions about the effectiveness of current policing strategies.

The most devastating of the incidents occurred in Jos South, where nine passengers travelling to Jos were ambushed at Dungus community around 9:40 p.m. Witnesses said suspected gunmen opened fire on their vehicle without warning, killing several on the spot. Others sustained gunshot wounds, with some later confirmed dead in the hospital. Among the dead was a member of Operation Rainbow, the multi agency outfit established to support peace efforts in Plateau.

A resident, Musa Dauda, described the aftermath as chaotic, noting that several victims succumbed to injuries while receiving treatment.

In Mangu Local Government Area, two people were killed when suspected terrorists invaded Vodni community in Pushit District during the night. Four others sustained gunshot injuries and are currently receiving treatment in Mangu town.

Around the same period, two more people were killed in Tahoos, Riyom Local Government Area, in yet another night time assault. The attacks were not isolated; they formed part of a broader pattern of violence that has persisted despite repeated security deployments and public assurances.

The violence has not spared Fulani herders, who suffered a separate attack in Aloghom Sabon Gari, Mangu Local Government Area where three teenage herders, Garzali Shaibu (18), Bashiru Yakubu (14), and Salim Abubakar (15), were allegedly killed while tending their cattle. Members of the herding community said 50 cattle were shot dead, with several herders still missing.

Coordinator of the Fulbe Fulani Development Association in Mangu, Hashimu Yahaya, described the killings as “brutal and unprovoked,” insisting the victims were peacefully grazing when gunmen opened fire. State chairman of MACBAN, Ibrahim Yusuf Babayo, condemned the attack, alleging a “calculated attempt to cleanse Fulani herders and destroy their means of livelihood.”

These incidents underscore the complexity of Plateau’s security crisis in which multiple communities, often with competing narratives, suffer devastating losses. It is a conflict landscape where victims and perpetrators are not easily categorised, and where cycles of reprisal deepen mistrust.

It was against this backdrop that IGP Disu visited Plateau State a fortnight ago. His trip included engagements at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, and a courtesy visit to the Plateau State Government House in Jos, where he met with Deputy Governor Josephine Piyo.

Disu said he was in Plateau to engage the Commissioner of Police, officers of the command and other stakeholders toward addressing the attacks. He disclosed that some arrests had been made, attributing the progress to increased confidence among residents to provide information to the Police. “We are not happy about this situation,” he said. “Some arrests have been made because of the efforts we have put in. We are going to find a lasting solution to this.” He pledged closer collaboration with the Plateau State Government and other stakeholders, stressing that the Police would continue to work towards improving security and protecting residents.

Deputy Governor Piyo welcomed the IGP’s visit, describing it as a demonstration of federal concern for Plateau’s security. She commended the new Commissioner of Police, Ayodeji Faniyan, for his efforts and highlighted steps taken by the state government, including the establishment of a control centre in Jos.

But her appeal was pointed. She urged the IGP to reactivate the Mobile Police barracks in Gashish and increase deployment to Barkin Ladi, Riyom and Bokkos areas that have endured repeated attacks with little deterrence.

The challenge, however, lies in the stark contrast between assurances and unfolding events. The attacks that followed, particularly the Friday market killings in Mangu and the Sunday night assaults, have raised difficult questions about the effectiveness of current security strategies. If arrests have been made, why do attackers still operate with such confidence? Why do communities continue to face repeated assaults despite multiple deployments? Where are the intelligence gaps that allow attackers to strike across multiple Local Government Areas within hours?

Plateau’s security challenges are not merely operational; they are structural. The terrain is vast, rural communities are dispersed, and attackers often exploit difficult landscapes to evade capture. Intelligence gathering remains weak, and trust between communities and security agencies is inconsistent.

The Police, despite increased deployments, face limitations in manpower, mobility and real time intelligence. Joint operations with other security agencies have produced mixed results, often reactive rather than preventive.

Disu’s visit to Plateau also intersected with his broader national message delivered at NIPSS, where he argued that Nigeria’s emerging creative “orange economy” cannot thrive without a secure environment. His point was simple: national development is impossible without stability.

According to him, the sector can contribute significantly to employment, investment and national development if creators and their businesses are adequately protected from criminal activities, stressing the establishment of an Orange Economy Security and Intellectual Property Coordination Desk within an appropriate existing structure of the Nigeria Police Force.

He said the proposed desk would facilitate specialised policing, inter-agency collaboration, dedicated reporting mechanisms and stronger engagement with stakeholders in the creative sector.

But in Plateau, where markets, farms and rural settlements have become recurring targets, the challenge is immediate and deeply destabilising. The killings in Mangu, Jos South, Bokkos and Riyom underscore a painful truth: without decisive, intelligence driven policing, communities will continue to pay the price for systemic lapses.

The IGP’s visit was meant to reassure Plateau; instead, it has highlighted the widening gap between official promises and the lived reality of communities under siege. Yet the visit remains important; it signals federal attention, opens channels for collaboration, and places pressure on security agencies to deliver results.

But the path forward requires more than visits and assurances. It demands stronger intelligence networks built on trust with local communities, rapid response units that can reach rural areas quickly, reactivation of dormant security infrastructure, transparent investigations into attacks, and joint operations that prioritise prevention over reaction.

Plateau State stands at a critical juncture. The recent attacks, spanning passengers, farmers, herders and rural communities, reflect a security crisis that is both complex and deeply entrenched. The IGP’s visit offered hope, but the killings that followed have sharpened the demand for accountability and decisive action.

As residents mourn and brace for what may come next, the pressure on Nigeria’s security machinery is mounting. The question now is whether the assurances given in Jos can become the sustained, intelligence-driven policing Plateau desperately needs.