A community leader in Mushere Chiefdom, Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, has raised alarm over the forceful takeover of his community by armed bandits, saying residents were violently displaced while their ancestral land and places of worship were seized.
Speaking during a charity programme organised by the Plateau Unite Foundation in Jos, the community leader, Amos Gyang, recounted how the attackers invaded the village in 2025, killing more than 10 residents and forcing the entire community to flee.
According to Gyang, the attack came as a shock to the villagers, who had lived peacefully with Fulani settlers in the area for years without any known dispute.
He said the bandits, armed with sophisticated weapons, stormed the village, overran the residents, and took control of farmlands, livestock and homes.
Gyang further alleged that after chasing the villagers away, the attackers renamed the community and converted the local church into a mosque, a development he described as deeply painful to the displaced residents.
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Since the attack, he said many villagers have been living in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps under harsh conditions, while others have resorted to begging to survive.
“As farmers, our people depended entirely on the land, but now our farms are occupied and we have nothing left,” he said.
The community leader lamented that repeated appeals to government authorities for intervention and support have yielded no results, leaving the displaced residents feeling abandoned.
He appealed to the state and federal governments to urgently intervene to restore peace, enable the return of displaced persons, and reclaim the occupied community.
Gyang expressed hope that, despite the current hardship, the community would one day return to its ancestral land.
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