The tragic incident occurred during the early hours of Wednesday, as gunmen surrounded the village, where victims, predominantly women and children, had sought refuge in the home of a community leader following earlier unrest in Mangu town on Tuesday.
Mark Haruna, a community leader in the area, verified the death toll and explained that the previous disturbances in Mangu town were orchestrated to divert attention away from the vulnerable villages. Haruna expressed the devastating events, stating, “For the second time, my village, Kwahaslalek, came under attack… They came at about 12:30 am and killed over 25 people, mostly women and children.”
Joseph Gwankat, Chairman of the Mwaghavul Development Association, also confirmed the tragedy, condemning it as a callous act. He recounted how fear from the earlier unrest led villagers to assemble in a perceived safe location, only for the assailants to strike in the night.
Despite the horrific incident, the spokesman for the state police command, Alabo Alfred, claimed no knowledge of the event, stating, “I have not received any report on that. Let me call my Commander. We will investigate the incident if actually something like that happened.”
The Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, responded to the escalating security crisis by imposing a 24-hour curfew on Mangu LGA the previous day. This decision followed the deterioration of the security situation, with recent unrest resulting in the destruction of numerous houses, including churches and mosques. The state remains reeling from the Christmas Eve attacks in various local government areas, where gunmen targeted several villages, leaving over 150 people dead.