Over 30 persons were killed in a horrific attack on the Munga Lelau hamlet in Taraba State’s Karim Lamido Local Government Area last Friday, which also resulted in the destruction of multiple homes and food stores valued at millions of naira.
Friday’s episode was characterized as the worst in recent memory, despite the fact that communal skirmishes between farmers and herders have been occurring often in various regions of the local government lately. It was alleged that Fulani herders planned the assault and murdered defenseless bystanders. Fulani pastoralists, on the other hand, asserted that farming groups had also attacked them violently. Around 2:30 p.m., the attackers apparently arrived on motorcycles and invaded the community from several areas, surprising the locals.
In addition to the over 30 fatalities, hundreds of residents had to evacuate for their safety when multiple homes were set on fire.
Attacks were also made on nearby settlements. Numerous individuals were killed or injured, according to sources, even though no official death toll has been announced from those places.
“A nightmare in broad daylight” is how one victim of the horrifying incident put it. He described how the attackers rode motorcycles into the neighborhood, opened fire without warning, burned down houses, and left the entire town in ashes.
Additionally, it was learned that the attackers targeted Munga Lelau while security personnel were positioned nearby Bandawa, another neighborhood that had previously experienced comparable violence.
More than 20 dead had been pronounced by the time security troops reached Munga Lelau from Bandawa, and numerous locals had been shot.
On Saturday, the victims were laid to rest in a mass grave while being closely monitored by police and military personnel stationed nearby. There was smoke and sadness in the air. Numerous attacks and retaliatory assaults have been documented in the Bandawa, Munga, and Fulani communities in the area before to the attack on Munga Lelau on Friday, May 23, which claimed several lives. Mr. Joachim Dangana, the Bandawa community’s public relations officer, called the occurrence “deeply regrettable.”
He pointed out that there has long been harmony between the Bandawa and Fulani people.
In order to bring about enduring peace between the Fulani and Bandawa people, he emphasized the necessity of reconciliation.
According to him, Taraba State is in greater need of peace than ever, particularly now that Governor Agbu Kefas is working hard to draw in both domestic and foreign investors.
Speaking on behalf of the Fulani community, Isa Ahmed denounced the issue as well, emphasizing that without peace, progress and prosperity are impossible.
He said that Munga and Bandawa locals had attacked Fulani communities on multiple occasions, killing over 30 Fulani, including women and young people.
He added that more than 35 Fulani individuals were injured in separate assaults, and hundreds of cows belonging to pastoralists were killed or rustled.
“Our voices are not heard, our complaints are ignored, and yet we are labelled as the aggressors,” he said.
Findings by Daily Trust revealed that hundreds of farmers from across Nigeria typically migrate to Karim Lamido Local Government Area annually for dry-season rice farming.
However, the communal conflicts have forced many to abandon the area in favour of safer, less volatile areas for irrigation farming.
The attack on the Munga Lelau community was verified by the Taraba State Police Command.
Isah Ishaku, a 15-year-old kid, was allegedly macheted while working on his family’s farm around 2:30 p.m. on Friday, according to a statement from SP James Lashen, the Police Public Relations Officer.
He claimed that shortly after, “armed herders mounted motorcycles and attacked Magami and Munga Lelau, burning houses and killing multiple people.”
SP Lashen further revealed that the Divisional Police Officer and a joint police squad were attacked at the spot but were able to repel the attackers, who retreated into the jungle and left one of their motorcycles behind.
Dr. Agbu Kefas, the governor of Taraba State, responded to the tragedy by strongly denouncing the killings and calling the violence “horrendous and unacceptable.”
In a statement sent by his media assistant, Emmanuel Bello, the governor conveyed his sincere sympathies to the victims’ families and gave citizens the assurance that his government will not waver in its commitment to safeguarding people and property.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Taraba State branch, under the leadership of Rev. Fr. Dr. Williams Awoshiri, has vehemently denounced the recent spate of deaths and episodes of violence in a number of Karim Lamido LGA areas.
Rev. Fr. Awoshiri emphasized the necessity of stepped-up efforts to capture the offenders and bring about enduring peace in the statement released in Jalingo.
He demanded fairness and a coordinated response that puts everyone’s safety and welfare first, regardless of their racial or religious background. In order to achieve reconciliation and enduring harmony, the CAN chairman urged government officials, community leaders, and stakeholders to embrace discussion. Security chiefs and local stakeholders were working to encourage peaceful coexistence amongst the Bandawa, Munga, and Fulani populations in Karim Lamido LGA prior to Friday’s incident.
Brigadier General Kingsley Chidiebere Uwa, the Commander of 6 Brigade Nigerian Army / Sector 3 Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), conducted a number of strategic stakeholder meetings throughout the Ardo-Kola, Lau, and Karim-Lamido LGAs as part of the military’s continuous non-kinetic peace strategy.
On May 14, 2025, Brigadier General Uwa met with LGA chairman Zakari Ismail, together with members from the youth, elders, and opinion leaders, at the Ardo-Kola Local Government Secretariat. Strengthening ties within the community, enhancing early warning systems, and expanding collaboration with security authorities were the main topics of discussion.
In the second phase, members from the Bandawa, Munga, and Fulani communities of Karim Lamido convened in the 6 Brigade Headquarters conference room in Jalingo from May 15 to 16.
Following a recent violent conflict between farmers and herders that resulted in fatalities and the displacement of families currently living in an IDP camp in Lau LGA, the session was held.
A number of resolutions were approved, one of which called for the formal peace agreement to be signed the next week.
Even though the cropping season has already started, the findings showed that locals’ dread was increasing, deterring many from visiting their farms or going fishing.
Many residents in Karim Lamido town, according to Mr. John Adamu, are upset because their country is starting to look more and more like a war zone. Citing previous conflicts between the Wurkum and Fulani, Wurkum and Karimjo, Wurkum and Shomo, and most recently, the Munga, Bandawa, and Fulani populations, he bemoaned the history of recurrent ethnic conflicts in the region.
In recent years, there have been many and fatal communal conflicts in Taraba State, which are frequently the result of disagreements over territory, traditional authority, and resource management.
25 people were killed and numerous others were injured in a bloody clash between the Shomo and Jole ethnic groups in Lau LGA in April 2020. Residents blamed the destruction of almost 100 homes on a disagreement over traditional fish ponds.
As hostilities between the Ichen and Tiv populations from Donga LGA increased the next month, eight individuals were killed and eight homes were burned in Bali LGA.
Following a contentious attempt to establish a village head, a conflict between the Ichen and Ndaka in Bissaula, Kurmi LGA, in January 2022 claimed ten lives.
Violence persisted in Kurmi LGA notwithstanding a panel of investigation into Ichen-Ndaka hostilities. Millions of dollars’ worth of property was damaged in Bissaula in March 2022 when armed gunmen killed three police officers and an elderly woman.
A succession dispute between the Karimjo and Wurkum ethnic groups in Karim Lamido LGA in May 2023 resulted in eight fatalities and further instability.
Four people were killed and tensions were high in Takum LGA that same month when violence between the Kutep and Hausa populations erupted.
Karim Lamido was placed under a 24-hour curfew by Governor Agbu Kefas in July 2023 after another Karimjo-Wurkum fight that left over 50 people dead.
