“How Long, Oh Lord?” – Bloodshed in Plateau Sparks Fresh Cries for Nigeria’s Dissolution

JOS, PLATEAU STATE — The fragile peace of Nigeria’s Middle Belt has once again been shattered by a sequence of “barbaric” killings, leaving the hills of Plateau State stained with the blood of children and elderly residents. The latest wave of violence, which peaked between February 22 and February 27, 2026, has ignited a firestorm of grief and political defiance, with many now questioning if the Nigerian project has reached a terminal breaking point.

The horror reached a crescendo on Thursday night, February 26, in the Nche Shwye Rishi community of Miango, Bassa Local Government Area. Under the cover of darkness, gunmen—identified by local survivors as “Fulani Islamic terrorists”—invaded the sleeping village.

A Night of Slaughter

The Plateau State Police Command confirmed that the attackers moved with clinical precision, killing five people in their homes. Among the victims were children whose only crime was being born into a conflict they did not create. Three others were left fighting for their lives in local hospitals, their bodies riddled with bullets.

This massacre followed an even deadlier assault on Sunday, February 22, in the Ratatis community of Dorowa Babuje, Barkin Ladi. At least 10 residents were slaughtered in that raid, an event so “primitive and animalistic” that it triggered a chaotic cycle of reprisal killings and illegal road blockades. On the highways, at least four Muslim traders were reportedly pulled from vehicles and killed in revenge attacks, further tearing at the state’s religious fabric.

The Video That Set X Ablaze

The violence gained international attention after a graphic video of the aftermath went viral. Dr. Chidi Nwanyanwu, Director General of the Take It Back Movement, shared the footage with a chilling ultimatum: “Comrades, let’s make this video go viral and ask for the end of Nigeria as a country.”

Nwanyanwu’s post tapped into a deep well of regional resentment, explicitly linking the current carnage to the political legacy of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He accused the “Jagaban” administration of inheriting and enabling a system of tribal and religious hegemony that began under former President Muhammadu Buhari. “Just imagine what they are doing,” Nwanyanwu wrote. “Everyone knows the activities of Buhari and his tribes in Nigeria.”

Mutfwang’s “Last Warning”

Faced with a state on the brink of civil war, Governor Caleb Mutfwang convened an emergency Security Council meeting on Friday. The Governor’s tone was one of exasperation and iron.

• Zero Tolerance for Blockades: Mutfwang announced an immediate ban on all unauthorised road blockades across the 17 local government areas.
• Community Accountability: In a shift in policy, the Governor warned that traditional and community leaders will now be held personally responsible for any violence or blockades occurring within their domains.
• The Police Response: The Command reported that 27 suspects have already been arrested during intelligence-led raids in Alheri and Busa-Buji as security forces attempt to de-escalate the “tit-for-tat” killings.

A Nation Fracturing

The tragedy in Plateau is not an isolated event. It is a single, bloody thread in a national tapestry that is rapidly unravelling. From the 10,000 bandits occupying Bauchi’s Alkaleri axis to the Lakurawa mosque massacres in Kebbi, the federal security apparatus appears powerless.

While the Abuja “regency” manages its image through $9 million Washington lobbying contracts and dismisses the President’s “wasting” health as “carpet, not cancer,” the people of Miango are burying their children. As Dr. Nwanyanwu’s call for dissolution gains traction on social media, the question is no longer just how to stop the killings, but whether the “giant of Africa” can survive its own internal bleeding.