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Barkin Ladi, Plateau State — September 16, 2026

Gunmen have killed three vigilantes during a night attack on NTV community in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State, the latest in a relentless string of killings across the state that critics say exposes the federal government’s continued failure to protect residents of Nigeria’s Middle Belt.

The attack occurred around 11 p.m. on Tuesday, when armed men opened fire on vigilantes who were on duty guarding the community and its residents’ homes. “The incident happened around 11pm. The men were watching over the community when the gunmen shot at them,” said Gabriel Ayuba, a resident who confirmed the incident to reporters. “It is very sad that people who were only protecting the community were attacked and killed.”

Rwang Tengwong, National Publicity Secretary of the Berom Youth Moulders, confirmed that three people were killed in the attack, describing it as unfortunate and calling on security agencies to intensify patrols and adopt more proactive measures to protect vulnerable communities. “The people cannot continue to live in fear while those volunteering to protect their communities are being killed,” Tengwong said, urging a thorough investigation to identify and prosecute those responsible.

Efforts to reach the Plateau State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Alfred Alabo, for comment were unsuccessful, as his phone was reportedly switched off at the time of filing.

Part of a relentless pattern

Tuesday’s killings came just days after 13 people were killed in separate attacks across Riyom and Mangu LGAs of Plateau State, and follow a bus attack at Dungus Junction in Jos South LGA earlier this month that killed 13 people, including eight passengers and the driver. The NTV community attack adds to a documented pattern of near-continuous violence in Plateau State throughout 2026, spanning Barkin Ladi, Bokkos, Riyom, Mangu, and Jos North LGAs, with communities repeatedly targeted despite recurring pledges of intensified security deployment.

A federal government accused of failing Plateau residents

The renewed killings have intensified longstanding criticism that the federal government under President Bola Tinubu has failed to stem the relentless cycle of violence in Plateau State despite years of promises and a defence and security budget that reached ₦6.57 trillion in 2025 and ₦5.41 trillion in the 2026 appropriation — the largest single sectoral allocation in the federal budget. Critics argue that the scale of this spending has not translated into visible protection for communities like NTV, where residents have had to rely on volunteer vigilantes, rather than state security forces, to guard against attacks that continue to recur with little sign of abating.

The attack also comes as scrutiny persists over the federal government’s responsiveness to Plateau’s security crisis more broadly: President Tinubu issued no public acknowledgment of the Dungus Junction bus attack that killed 13 people earlier this month, a departure from his more immediate public responses to earlier mass-casualty Plateau attacks, including the April 2025 Bokkos killings and the Christmas Eve 2023 attacks that killed over 115 people. That silence coincided with Tinubu’s extended personal leave in Europe, which began August 30 and drew criticism from opposition figures over its timing amid Nigeria’s continuing security emergencies.

As of this writing, neither the Presidency nor the Plateau State Police Command had issued a statement specifically addressing Tuesday’s killing of the three NTV community vigilantes.