Gunmen kill four people across Kikyau and Kinat communities in Mangu LGA just hours after the GOC 3 Division held a peace meeting with Mwaghavul and Fulani leaders, prompting anger from the Mwaghavul Youth Movement.
Mangu, Plateau State — September 11-12, 2026
At least four people were killed and one other injured in a fresh wave of attacks across communities in Mangu Local Government Area, Plateau State, striking just hours after the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Division held a peace meeting with Mwaghavul and Fulani community leaders.
The Mwaghavul Youth Movement (MYM) said the first killing occurred in Kikyau, Mangu Halle District, where 55-year-old Geoffrey Gumut was killed on Friday, September 11. A second attack followed in Kinat, where 29-year-old Katbam Titus was killed on the night of September 12.
According to MYM's Director of Public Affairs, Tubwot Joël Sunday, the GOC had specifically urged both communities to set aside their differences during the meeting and assured attendees that the Army "would not allow any group to attack another," pledging a clampdown on whichever group was responsible for further violence. "Yet, before the dust could settle on that engagement, Kinat was attacked and a young Mwaghavul man, Katbam Titus, was killed. This cannot simply be ignored," the group said.
MYM extended condolences to the families of Titus, Gumut, and two additional victims identified as Pius Dachen and Zadok Irmiya, and prayed for the recovery of Danjuma Kyesle and others wounded across the four incidents.
The attacks represent an unusually direct and immediate test of the military's peacebuilding efforts in Mangu, occurring within hours of a high-level assurance from the GOC himself a timing MYM's statement suggests has deepened community frustration with the pace and effectiveness of the ongoing "Operation Hard Nut" offensive in the LGA.
More on Plateau