Plateau Community Alleges Sponsored Attacks On Muslims

Jasawa Community Development Association (JCDA) in Plateau State has alleged that

Muslims in the state have suffered repeated  sponsored  attacks amounting to genocide.

According to the association, the attacks were not random, but were driven by ethnic, religious and political motives deeply rooted in discriminatory indigene–settler narratives.

JCDA also said it had compiled documentary evidence showing that over 4,700 Muslims were allegedly killed in Plateau State over the past 25 years.

The national president of the association, Alhaji Yawale Muhammad, stated this at a press conference in Jos as part of activities to mark the 27th annual commemorative prayers for victims of past crises.

He said from the 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010 and other crises, they documented over 4,700 Muslims that were killed or maimed.

“For us, every 28th November is not just another date on the calendar. It is a date that subsumed other dates in which unfortunate crises had befalling us, it is also set aside for sober reflection, mourning, truth-telling, prayer and renewed resolve,” he said.

According to the association, in 2001, over 700 Muslims were killed, hundreds others in 2002 in the Eto Baba attack in Jos, while the 2004 Yelwa-Shendam crisis added at least 700 fatalities to the toll.

“One of the bloodiest episodes occurred in 2008, when post-election unrest in Jos resulted in over 1,000 Muslim deaths, followed by the 2010 multi-location attacks, including Dutse Uku, Gero, Kuru Jenta and other areas, where more than 2,000 Muslims were reportedly killed.

“In 2011, violence at the Rukuba Road Eid praying ground left 20 worshippers dead, some allegedly cannibalize, while the 2021 Rukuba Road incident claimed hundreds of lives among Muslim travellers returning from a condolence visit to Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi,” the JCDA said.

Jasawa further stated  that the most recent tragedy documented occurred in 2025 when 14 Muslim wedding guests from Zaria were killed in Mangu local government area while travelling to Plateau State.

According to him, Jasawa Association documented evidences as mass graves could be found at Jos Zaria road Muslim cemetery, Narkuta Muslims cemetery, Dadin Kowa Muslims cemetery and Yelwan Shendam Muslim Cementry and others.

“Our goal is not to escalate tensions, but to place truth on record. For 24 years, Muslims in Jos and Plateau State have endured violence, losses, displacements and state-enabled injustice,” the association said.

He called on the federal government to

establish an independent judicial panel to revisit all crises from 2001–2025 and to ensure accountability for security personnel involved in arbitrary killings.

LEADERSHIP reports that Governor Caleb Mutfwang of the state had at the North Central zonal public hearing of the Senate Ad-hoc committee on the National Security Summit also disclosed that between 2001 and May 2025, over 420 communities were attacked, nearly 12,000 lives lost and countless livelihoods were destroyed in the state.