Plateau Declares State of War Against Terrorists, Orders Security Forces to Reclaim Ungoverned Spaces

The Plateau State Government has formally declared that the state is at war with terrorists, following an emergency session of the State Security Council convened by Governor Caleb Mutfwang on Tuesday. The meeting ended with stern directives to all security agencies to move immediately against terrorist enclaves and reclaim areas that have effectively fallen outside state control.

The declaration is not rhetorical. Mutfwang directed security forces to treat terrorists as enemies of the state and authorised an aggressive push into ungoverned spaces — areas in parts of Plateau’s rural LGAs where armed groups have operated with relative freedom, particularly in Bassa, Riyom, Barkin Ladi, and Mangu.

What triggered the emergency meeting

The timing follows a brutal stretch of violence in the state. A massacre in Ngbra Zongo community in Kwall District in Bassa LGA on May 8 killed at least 13 people, including pregnant women. That attack came after months of escalating killings across Plateau’s farming communities, with security forces often arriving after the damage was done.

Governor Mutfwang has faced sustained criticism for what many communities describe as slow and inadequate responses. Tuesday’s emergency security council was, in part, an acknowledgment that the existing approach has not worked.

The directives issued

According to Vanguard and The Sun, the security council meeting produced specific operational directives: security agencies were instructed to identify and neutralise terrorist camps within the state, deny terrorists freedom of movement on major roads and waterways, and step up intelligence gathering in at-risk communities.

The state government also indicated it would work with federal security forces, though the exact coordination structure was not detailed.

Whether these directives translate into results on the ground remains to be seen. Plateau has been here before — announcements of crackdowns followed by short lulls and then further attacks. The communities most affected are watching this one carefully.

Sources: Punch, Vanguard, The Sun, Politics Nigeria