Insecurity: Plateau is bleeding, no one is listening — Benson

Kennedy Benson, a Plateau state indigene and resident of Jos, described the ongoing violence in Plateau State as a “national disgrace” and “a failure of leadership at every level.”

In a statement issued on Sunday in Jos, Benson said over 200 people have been killed in the first half of 2025 alone, many in coordinated attacks that follow a familiar, deadly pattern, yet no one is listening as expected, even as the state continues to bleed.

“They come at night, burn our villages, kill our people, and disappear. These are not random killings. This is organised violence, and yet our government gives us only condolences,”; he said, referencing recent attacks in Kanam, Riyom, and Mangu.

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Recalling the April massacre in Zike and Kimakpa villages, where 51 people were slaughtered, Benson said, “The attackers moved freely, destroyed churches and farms, and left before security ever arrived. What’s the point of checkpoints if they don’t protect us?”

Benson, who said he has lost several relatives in the crisis, connected the current violence to the December 2023 Christmas Eve attacks that killed nearly 200 people in Bokkos and Barkin Ladi. “That massacre was a turning point. But nothing changed. Not a single arrest. We have been crying for justice for years,” he said

He called the government’s response “performative and too late,” arguing that people need protection before attacks happen—not photo-ops afterwards.

At the heart of the crisis, he said, is a collapse of trust. “We no longer believe the state will defend us. Our children are growing up in IDP camps, traumatised, unschooled, and forgotten. If this continues, there won’t be communities left to govern.

Benson appealed to the international community that “If the Nigerian government won’t act, then the world must. We need an independent UN investigation, real accountability, and support to rebuild our lives. Plateau is bleeding and no one is listening,” he appealed.