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Barkin Ladi, Plateau State – By Prime Brief Media
Gunmen unleashed terror on grieving villagers in Plateau State on Wednesday, attacking mourners gathered for the mass burial of seven victims killed in an earlier assault, in a development that has drawn sharp international condemnation and a call from the United States Congress for potential sanctions against Nigeria.
The attack occurred in Fan District, Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, the same community where five people were killed on 3 May. Residents told Prime Brief Media that as villagers gathered to bury the dead, armed assailants struck again. An eyewitness journalist on the scene reported that five communities were under simultaneous assault, with gunmen firing indiscriminately on the mourners.
"It is a bloodbath. We came to bury our dead, and they came to create more dead. The soldiers are here, but the attacks continue. We are dying, and the world is watching," the journalist told Prime Brief Media via telephone, his voice breaking.
No official casualty figure had been confirmed by security agencies at the time of this briefing, but community youth leaders said several people were killed and many others injured. The Berom Youth Moulders Association described the attack as "genocidal" and renewed calls for the declaration of a state of emergency in Plateau State.
US Congressman demands action
The escalation has now drawn the direct intervention of the United States Congress. Congressman Riley Moore issued a statement calling on President Donald Trump to take "forceful action" against the Nigerian government, citing what he described as its failure to protect Christian communities from systematic attacks.
"I am calling on President Trump to take forceful action in response to the Nigerian government's inaction. This is not a conflict; it is a targeted campaign of violence against Christian communities, and the authorities have failed in their most basic duty — to protect life," Moore said in the statement.
Moore, a Republican, has previously been vocal on Nigeria's security crisis. He was among the lawmakers who advanced provisions in the Fiscal Year 2027 National Security spending bill that would withhold 50 per cent of designated US assistance to Nigeria until the government takes "effective steps" to address religious violence. The fresh attacks are expected to intensify that push.
The Plateau State Government had not issued a statement on the latest attack at press time. A spokesman for Operation Enduring Peace declined to comment, saying a full situation report was being compiled.
Escalating cycle of violence
Wednesday's atrocity is the latest in a sustained campaign of violence against Berom-majority communities in Barkin Ladi, Riyom, and Mangu local government areas. A coalition of Berom ethnic organisations disclosed last month that over 500 people were killed between November 2025 and April 2026 alone, figures that independent monitors have described as credible.
Prime Brief Media will continue to track security and rescue efforts across the state as this story develops.
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