Curfew in Taraba community as DSS officer, others k!lled

Several people, including a DSS officer, have been k!lled in the Mambilla Plateau of Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State.

The k!llings, blamed on an ethnic militia in the Mbamnga area, reportedly started on Tuesday and continued into Wednesday, September 16, 2026, spreading to several areas, particularly pastoralist settlements.

Several cows were k!lled while many houses were reportedly burnt by the suspected armed militia.

According to Daily Trust, many residents, including women and children, were displaced, with some fleeing to neighbouring Cameroon for safety.

The Chairman of Sardauna Local Government Council, Mohammed Umar, declared a 24-hour curfew across Mbamnga, Mbara and Geroji following the escalation of the violence.

Umar, while announcing the curfew on Wednesday, assured residents that the situation was under control, adding that security operatives had been deployed to the affected communities to maintain law and order and protect lives and property.

He directed security agencies to enforce the curfew strictly and arrest anyone found violating it.

However, reports from the area indicated that attacks were still ongoing in some pastoralist settlements despite the curfew.

Umar Saidu, a pastoralist in one of the affected settlements, said the militia attacked their community and k!lled three people.

He said many cows were k!lled and houses burnt by the attackers.

“We don’t know where our children and women are because when the attackers came, everyone started running for his life,” Saidu said.

Another pastoralist, Alhaji Aminu Bello, said the recurrence of violence on the plateau was a source of concern as Nigeria approaches the 2027 general elections.

“We don’t know what will happen from now to election time because the violence may likely be sponsored by some politicians as they did in the past and nothing happened to them,” Bello said.

He blamed the failure to arrest and prosecute alleged sponsors of violence for the recurring crises and k!llings in the area.

The Stakeholders Forum in Sardauna Local Government Area has expressed concern over the unrest in Mbara village, Mbamnga District.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the forum’s chairman, Timothy Kataps, said the stakeholders received the report of the unrest with deep concern.

Kataps, who is also the Secretary to the Taraba State Government, appealed to residents, regardless of tribe or faith, to remain calm and avoid actions or statements capable of escalating the tension.

The forum also called on traditional rulers, religious leaders, parents and youth leaders to rein in their wards and embrace dialogue.