The Plateau State\u00a0Government has imposed\u00a0an immediate dusk-to-dawn curfew\u00a0on\u00a0Barkin Ladi, Bokkos\u00a0and Mangu Local\u00a0Government Areas\u00a0following a fresh\u00a0escalation of violence\u00a0that has left\u00a0several people dead\u00a0and heightened fears\u00a0among residents.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0restriction, which took\u00a0effect on Monday, September 21, 2026, prohibits movement between\u00a06:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. daily until further\u00a0notice. The government has\u00a0also ordered an\u00a0immediate ban on\u00a0the use of\u00a0motorcycles across the\u00a0three affected local\u00a0government areas.<\/p>\n
The directive was\u00a0contained in a\u00a0statement signed by\u00a0Plateau State Commissioner\u00a0for Information and\u00a0Communication,\u00a0Joyce Lohya Ramnap, who said the\u00a0measure was intended\u00a0to enable security\u00a0agencies to stabilise\u00a0the affected communities, protect lives and\u00a0prevent a further\u00a0breakdown of law\u00a0and order.<\/p>\n
The government urged\u00a0residents to reorganise\u00a0their commercial, farming\u00a0and personal activities\u00a0around the restricted\u00a0hours and cooperate\u00a0with security personnel\u00a0enforcing the order.<\/p>\n
Fresh killings trigger\u00a0new security measures<\/p>\n
The curfew comes\u00a0after a series\u00a0of deadly attacks\u00a0across Plateau in\u00a0recent days.<\/p>\n
According to reports,\u00a0at least nine\u00a0people were killed\u00a0in separate attacks\u00a0between Saturday night\u00a0and Sunday morning\u00a0in communities around\u00a0Barkin Ladi and\u00a0neighbouring Riyom. Five\u00a0people travelling\u00a0to Gana-Ropp\u00a0in Barkin Ladi\u00a0were reportedly killed\u00a0when their vehicle\u00a0came under attack, while two others, including a pastor, were killed while\u00a0travelling to church\u00a0at Dorowa Babuje. Further killings were\u00a0reported at Baten\u00a0Wereng in Riyom and Ratyidi\u00a0in Fan District.<\/p>\n
The latest violence\u00a0followed another attack\u00a0in\u00a0Mangu, where gunmen reportedly\u00a0opened fire on\u00a0a vehicle leaving\u00a0a vegetable market, killing three people\u00a0and injuring several\u00a0others.<\/p>\n
The renewed violence\u00a0has also affected\u00a0local efforts to\u00a0protect communities.\u00a0Earlier in September, three vigilantes were\u00a0reportedly killed while\u00a0on night watch\u00a0in NTV community\u00a0in Barkin Ladi.<\/p>\n
Violence has persisted\u00a0for months<\/p>\n
The latest\u00a0attacks are part\u00a0of a wider\u00a0pattern of insecurity\u00a0that has affected\u00a0Plateau communities throughout\u00a02026.<\/p>\n
In the week\u00a0preceding the latest\u00a0incidents, at least\u00a020 people were\u00a0reported killed in\u00a0separate attacks\u00a0across the state, prompting the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to\u00a0visit Plateau as\u00a0authorities sought to\u00a0strengthen security coordination.<\/p>\n
Earlier in September, community leaders also\u00a0reported the killing\u00a0of herders and\u00a0the destruction or\u00a0theft of livestock\u00a0in parts of\u00a0Mangu and Barkin\u00a0Ladi. It was\u00a0reported that three\u00a0herders were\u00a0killed and 50\u00a0cattle shot dead\u00a0in an attack\u00a0in Aloghom, Mangu, while another herder\u00a0and 18 cattle\u00a0were reportedly killed\u00a0in Nyerwe, Barkin\u00a0Ladi.<\/p>\n
There have also\u00a0been attacks on\u00a0travellers. On September\u00a014, reports said\u00a0nine passengers were\u00a0killed when gunmen\u00a0opened fire on\u00a0a vehicle at\u00a0Dungus in Jos\u00a0South, with additional\u00a0deaths recorded in\u00a0Mangu and Riyom.<\/p>\n
In May, police\u00a0confirmed that five\u00a0people were killed\u00a0and more than\u00a010 injured in\u00a0a shooting at\u00a0Gwan-Ajang in\u00a0Barkin Ladi, while\u00a0subsequent reports said\u00a0eight victims of\u00a0the attack were\u00a0buried in a\u00a0mass ceremony.<\/p>\n
Security operations intensified<\/p>\n
The Nigerian Army\u00a0has also stepped\u00a0up operations in\u00a0response to the\u00a0violence.
\nReports said that troops of\u00a0Operation Enduring Peace\u00a0recently arrested 11\u00a0suspected kidnappers and\u00a0rescued two victims\u00a0during operations across\u00a0Plateau. Earlier in\u00a0the month, soldiers\u00a0arrested three suspects\u00a0following the killing\u00a0of a 17-year-old in\u00a0Kafi-Abu, Barkin\u00a0Ladi.<\/p>\n
The continuing attacks\u00a0have nevertheless raised\u00a0concerns about the\u00a0ability of security\u00a0agencies to protect\u00a0vulnerable communities,\u00a0particularly at night\u00a0and along routes\u00a0connecting rural settlements.<\/p>\n
The affected areas\u00a0have also experienced\u00a0 significant displacement. In July, the\u00a0Plateau Resident Electoral\u00a0Commissioner said\u00a046,983 registered voters\u00a0had been displaced\u00a0by violence, with\u00a0affected populations spread\u00a0across eight local\u00a0government areas, including\u00a0Barkin Ladi, Bokkos, Mangu and Riyom.<\/p>\n
Curfew to remain\u00a0until further notice<\/p>\n
Under the new\u00a0directive, residents of\u00a0Barkin Ladi, Bokkos\u00a0and Mangu must\u00a0remain indoors from\u00a06:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m., while security personnel\u00a0have been authorised\u00a0to enforce both\u00a0the curfew and\u00a0motorcycle ban.<\/p>\n
The state government\u00a0said security personnel\u00a0would operate professionally\u00a0and appealed to\u00a0residents to cooperate\u00a0with them.<\/p>\n
The curfew comes\u00a0as authorities face\u00a0mounting pressure to\u00a0contain a cycle\u00a0of attacks that\u00a0has affected\u00a0farmers, herders, travellers, worshippers, vigilantes\u00a0and other residents\u00a0across Plateau.<\/p>\n
For now, the\u00a0government has given\u00a0no date for\u00a0lifting the restrictions, saying\u00a0they will remain\u00a0in force\u00a0until further notice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Plateau State\u00a0Government has imposed\u00a0an immediate dusk-to-dawn curfew\u00a0on\u00a0Barkin Ladi, Bokkos\u00a0and Mangu Local\u00a0Government Areas\u00a0following a fresh\u00a0escalation of violence\u00a0that has left\u00a0several people dead\u00a0and heightened fears\u00a0among residents. The\u00a0restriction, which took\u00a0effect on Monday, September 21, 2026, prohibits movement between\u00a06:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. daily until further\u00a0notice. The government has\u00a0also ordered an\u00a0immediate ban on\u00a0the use of\u00a0motorcycles across the\u00a0three affected local\u00a0government […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":64509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5807,7],"tags":[2345,32,1797,854],"class_list":["post-100352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-crime-and-violence","category-news","tag-barkin-ladi-2","tag-killings","tag-mangu","tag-plateau"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=100352"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100353,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100352\/revisions\/100353"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/64509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=100352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=100352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=100352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}