According to residents, the victims were part of a community-based vigilante network formed to defend villages from repeated raids. The group had ventured into a forested area over the weekend, reportedly as part of a coordinated effort to track and disrupt the movements of armed gangs that have terrorised the region.

But the operation ended in tragedy. Eyewitnesses told the BBC that dozens of bodies were later recovered, while several members of the group remain unaccounted for and are feared dead.

The rise of community self-defence units in Plateau has been driven by growing frustration with the failure of police and military forces to stem the violence. Many residents say they have been left with little choice but to take matters into their own hands.

Plateau State has long been a flashpoint for violence, particularly in rural areas where tensions simmer between nomadic herders and farming communities over land use and grazing rights.

Just weeks earlier, more than 50 people were killed and homes set ablaze in a series of attacks across the state. Despite repeated promises from authorities, many in the region say security remains elusive.

--ChannelAfrica--