Loading ...JOS, PLATEAU STATE — Fear and instability have intensified in the Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State following two separate guerrilla-style attacks within 24 hours that resulted in the deaths of two residents and left another severely injured.
The victims of the latest wave of violence have been identified as 19-year-old Emmanuel Chinge and 82-year-old Demi Duda. The attacks have triggered widespread panic among agrarian communities who accuse armed herdsmen of orchestrating targeted displacements.
Chronology of the 24-Hour Bloodshed
According to an official situational update released by Joseph Chudu Yonkpa, the National Publicity Secretary of the Irigwe Youth Movement (IYM), the first attack occurred around midday on Sunday, 28th June 2026. Armed militias ambushed Nche-tahu village in the Nkien-whie District of Irigwe Chiefdom, shooting and killing Emmanuel Chinge.
Before local vigilantes or state security forces could fortify adjacent boundaries, the armed men struck a second location. In the early hours of Monday, 29th June 2026, between 1:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m., the attackers invaded Kurudu village in Jebbu Miango.
The gunmen opened fire indiscriminately, killing the elderly Demi Duda in his residence and inflicting severe injuries on another villager. The surviving victim was evacuated and is receiving emergency medical care at an undisclosed hospital.
Scorched-Earth Tactics and Economic Hardship
Community leaders believe these recurring incursions extend beyond communal animosity, pointing instead to a coordinated economic warfare campaign. Local sources state that the armed groups routinely couple their physical assaults with the systematic destruction of vast hectares of food crops ready for harvest.
“The security situation in Irigwe land continues to deteriorate as these attackers persist in threatening lives and destroying our farms,” an IYM representative stated. “This is a deliberate attempt to displace our indigenous people, seize ancestral lands, and inflict artificial economic hardship on our households.”
Military Intervention and Security Response
Military sources tracking the region report that troops attached to Sector 3 of the Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) / Operation Enduring Peace framework immediately mobilized to repel the midnight ambush in Jebbu Miango. Gunfire was exchanged, forcing the attackers to retreat into the surrounding mountainous terrain.
While the military maintains that offensive operations and domination patrols are underway to stabilize Bassa LGA, civil society groups are urging the Plateau State Government and federal security agencies to shift from reactive postures to permanent, forward-operating base deployments.
