The Plateau highlands witnessed yet another devastating blow over the weekend as bandits launched a deadly ambush against local self-defence groups, killing at least 40. Some reports suggest a much higher figure.

The attacks, which struck two villages in Mangu Local Government Area, have shaken already-vulnerable rural communities.

According to the Nigerian Red Cross, “hundreds of vigilantes were ambushed” on Sunday while regrouping in Kukawa village after a confrontation in Bunyun Nyalum village had already turned bloody.

“Preliminary reports from our personnel in the field said at least 30 dead bodies are now deposited in a local hospital,” said Nuruddeen Hussain Magaji, the Red Cross secretary in Plateau.

Magaji added that “more dead bodies of the vigilantes will be recovered from the bush.”

The Kukawa ambush followed an earlier attack in Bunyun Nyalum where another 10 vigilantes were killed, according to resident Musa Ibrahim.

Most of the victims belonged to community vigilante groups formed in response to increasing insecurity and lack of adequate state presence.

Rural Nigeria Still Under Siege

Plateau State, like many parts of Nigeria’s northwest and central belt, has become a theatre of violence, often caught in the crossfire of farmer-herder clashes, communal tensions, and criminal banditry.

Armed gangs—referred to as “bandits”—have grown in strength in recent years, killing thousands and spreading fear through mass abductions, extortion, and raids on farming communities.

Security remains weak across much of Nigeria’s interior, with overstretched police forces and delayed military deployments leaving villages to defend themselves.

Despite repeated government pledges, violent outbreaks continue with devastating frequency, worsening food insecurity and displacing thousands.

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