Senate Report: 11,749 Killed, Hundreds of Plateau Communities Attacked in Four Years

A Senate report has disclosed that about 11,749 people were killed in Plateau State between 2001 and 2025, with 420 communities attacked across 13 local government areas and more than 136 communities deserted by their original inhabitants and taken over by strangers.

The findings are contained in the Interim Report of the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on the National Security Summit (Zonal Public Hearing), presented by the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central).

According to stakeholders who spoke at the North Central Security Summit, the sustained violence has displaced 25,528 households, destroyed over 35 churches, and resulted in the deaths of 33 pastors. They stressed that the crisis goes beyond farmer-herder clashes, describing it as “systematic ethnic cleansing and territorial displacement aimed at erasing indigenous Plateau communities from their ancestral lands.”

The report stated:

“The North-Central Zonal Public Hearing held in Jos on Thursday, 27th November 2025, revealed that military intelligence shows asymmetrical warfare is technology-driven and well-funded.”

It added that to effectively combat Boko Haram, banditry and armed Fulani herdsmen, authorities must identify funding sources and arms supply chains.

“It is necessary to unravel their sources of funding, identify financiers, cut off their supply of arms, and prosecute those involved. The proceeds should be used to compensate survivors.”

Stakeholders also demanded the establishment of an Independent Commission of Inquiry, made up of people of proven integrity, to probe allegations of genocide, persecution and violent criminal attacks, with the aim of finding lasting solutions.

They further argued that Nigeria’s security challenges are partly rooted in weak respect for diversity and traditional governance systems.

“Prior to colonialism, tribal nationalities lived under their traditional rulers and native laws. Our Constitution should recognize these traditional institutions and uphold native laws and customs,” they said.

The report linked Plateau’s insecurity to the presence of solid minerals and other economic resources, noting that greed and collaboration by some non-indigenous actors have fueled attacks, displacement and resettlement of invaded communities—often carried out at night.

While acknowledging that Fulani communities historically lived peacefully as pastoralists and agro-pastoralists, the report noted that criminal elements within the group have worsened the conflict, leading to unfair stereotyping of innocent Fulani residents.

It also highlighted structural weaknesses in Nigeria’s security architecture, stating:

“The Constitution recognizes State Governors and Local Government Chairmen as Chief Security Officers, but they lack control over security apparatus in their domains.”

As a solution, stakeholders called for state police, stronger local vigilante systems, and a centralized, well-equipped and coordinated national security framework, with emphasis on intelligence gathering, surveillance and cross-border cooperation to tackle inter-state crimes.

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