The Plateau State Government has criticized the Nigerian Army for failing to apprehend those responsible for the killing of 27 farmers in the Tahoss community of Riyom Local Government Area on Monday.
Officials accused the military of not arresting or neutralizing any of the suspected herdsmen involved in the attack, despite reportedly making contact with them during the incident.
“The checkpoint is barely 200 meters from where this incident happened,” said the state’s Commissioner for Information, Joyce Ramnap, during an appearance on The Morning Brief program on Channels Television on Friday.
“The response we got was that none were arrested and none were captured. None of those killed were affected by all that happened.”
Ramnap pointed out that the targeted community is situated close to a main access road monitored by military checkpoints.
“It is not a hidden community that we would say it is far, and that is why the people were not able to access help,” she stated.
“We do not want to stereotype and say that the entire Army compromised in this case.
“However, there is room to do more investigation, and the governor specifically requested that at least they should have some form of arrest.
“If you are that close and you engaged them closely like that, you should be able to say this is where they followed and the measures to arrest them, but so far, no arrest has been made,” she added.
Ramnap described the recent killings in Plateau as unprovoked and appalling.
She further alleged that the attackers not only murdered residents but also ravaged their farmlands.
The commissioner echoed the position of Governor Caleb Mutfwang, who visited the affected area on Wednesday. He referred to the ongoing attacks on residents by violent groups as genocide.
“Like the governor has said, we have gallant soldiers in the country, we also have them within Plateau State that are making their efforts to ensure that there is peace on the Plateau, but of course, we still have the bad eggs among them,” she said.
“The attacks came from three different sides of the community. One side was able to contain them and ensure that nothing happened. The other side that was closest to the place where the people were hiding in the church, those were the ones that were worst hit, and that is why we got that number of casualties.
“The pastor of that church, at a point, said he would not stay there and wait for them to kill him as well. He left, and his wife followed him, and right in his house, six people were killed.”
Plateau State, located in North Central Nigeria, has been plagued by frequent attacks. In April, more than 100 residents were slaughtered in coordinated assaults on Bokkos and Bassa local government areas—an atrocity that drew national and international condemnation. The April 2025 massacre marked the deadliest wave of violence in the state since the Christmas Eve attacks of 2023, when approximately 150 people were killed in Bokkos.