JOS — Fresh violence and outrage have engulfed parts of Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State following reports that military personnel allegedly opened fire on civilian defenders who mobilized with local weapons to repel an invasion by heavily armed terrorists in Arangai (Rangai) village.
According to account shared by journalist Masara Kim and local eyewitnesses, suspected terrorists armed with assault rifles invaded Arangai village in Mangu Halle District, launching an unprovoked attack on residents.
Local community members alleged that initial distress calls placed to military personnel deployed in the area went unanswered as the attackers moved into the village, forcing local civilian guards to confront the insurgents using homemade pipe guns and locally fabricated weapons to create a safe escape route for vulnerable women and children.
However, community sources claimed that when security personnel subsequently arrived at the scene, troops opened fire on the local vigilante group defending the community, resulting in the immediate death of a young resident.
“When civilian guards could no longer stand by and watch their families being slaughtered, they came out with homemade pipe guns to hold off the attackers to allow vulnerable residents to escape,” local sources reported, accusing troops of targeting community defenders instead of confronting the invading terrorists.
Contrastingly, security operational updates regarding the incident stated that troops of Operation Enduring Peace and Operation Rainbow responded to distress calls of suspicious movements and armed militia activities around the Jakatai and Rangai corridors. According to military reports, responding troops came under heavy gunfire from local armed elements using fabricated rifles, prompting security forces to return fire, resulting in the neutralization of one armed militia member and the recovery of two locally fabricated AK-47 rifles.
The fatal shooting triggered immediate civil unrest across neighboring Jakatai community, with aggrieved youths and women blocking the strategic Mangu-Jos highway with barricades to protest the killing of the village defender before security teams cleared the corridor.
Community leaders and civil society groups in Plateau State have called for an immediate, independent investigation into the rules of engagement applied by security agencies during rural distress responses, reiterating concerns over delayed military responses to village invasions across the vulnerable agrarian belt.
