By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
The Mwaghavul Development Association (MDA) has called for an urgent investigation into the latest violence in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, alleging that more than 28 members of its communities have been killed in less than 10 days.
The association also challenged accounts circulating on social media concerning the latest incident at Kikyau Village, insisting that some reports had omitted circumstances surrounding the violence.
In a statement signed by its Director of Public Affairs, Friday Derwam, following a joint meeting of its national executive, women and youth leaderships, the MDA alleged that the latest confrontation followed the killing and decapitation of a resident, Geofrey Kato Gumut.
According to the association, armed attackers surrounded Kikyau and killed Gumut, whose body was subsequently discovered without his head.
It claimed that local youths searching for the missing head followed a trail of blood towards a nearby Fulani settlement, where they demanded the return of the remains.
The MDA alleged that the occupants responded violently, disputing social-media accounts of what subsequently transpired.
The association’s claims about the identity of the attackers and sequence of events have not been independently verified.
MDA said the Kikyau incident came shortly after the killing of 24 people in Bin Mper, alleging that more than 28 Mwaghavul people had been killed within 10 days.
It further claimed that more than 750 Mwaghavul people had been killed in attacks since 2023, including residents attacked in their homes and farmers ambushed on their farms.
The association also rejected claims concerning ownership of alleged enclaves within Mwaghavul territory.
“No portion of Mwaghavul land has been legally ceded, sold, or transferred to the aggressors, whether under formal law, customary arrangements, or any recognised agreement,” it stated.
MDA said the Mwaghavul had historically accommodated other communities through coexistence and intermarriage, but alleged that this had increasingly given way to violence, displacement and disputes over land.
The association called on security agencies to investigate both the Kikyau incident and other killings across Mangu, identify those responsible and prosecute them.
It also urged the Plateau State and Federal governments to strengthen security around vulnerable farming communities and take action against armed groups operating illegally in the area.
MDA appealed to journalists and members of the public to exercise caution over competing accounts of the violence and rely on evidence established through credible investigations.
The association said it remained committed to protecting the lives, ancestral lands and dignity of the Mwaghavul people while seeking an evidence-based determination of responsibility for the recurring violence.
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