The Berom Youth Moulders-Association (BYM) has strongly condemned a fresh violent attack on Nding community in Fan District of Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, Plateau State, which claimed the life of a 45-year-old man, Mr. Dung Chollom Jack Age.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, BYM, under the leadership of its National President, Barr. Dalyop Solomon Mwantiri, described the attack carried out on Monday, February 16 as barbaric, senseless, and deeply troubling. The association said the killing reflects a growing pattern of insecurity threatening Berom communities.
BYM lamented that the incident is part of a wider wave of violence affecting Berom land and neighbouring areas, including Mangor and Mushere in Bokkos Local Government Area, as well as communities in Wase LGA, where residents have continued to suffer repeated attacks.
According to available reports, armed Fulani attackers earlier in the day forcefully grazed into villages in Fan District and around mining sites in the Nding axis, attacking miners and later advancing towards Rapyam village. Local vigilantes reportedly resisted the attackers, forcing them to retreat temporarily.
The association stated that the attackers regrouped and launched another assault on Rapyam community at about 3:00pm but were again repelled. Following intelligence reports that the assailants had concentrated around an old poultry farm near the Ropp Hills, security operatives under Operation Enduring Peace/STF reportedly responded, calming fears of residents and restoring temporary calm.
However, BYM said residents were shocked when the attackers later resurfaced under the cover of darkness, speaking in English, and launched a deadly assault on Nding Sesut village at about 9:00pm, during which Mr. Dung Chollom Jack Age was shot and killed.
The association expressed serious concern over what it described as the failure to apprehend or neutralize the attackers despite credible intelligence and timely alerts, questioning the effectiveness of existing security measures in protecting vulnerable rural communities.
BYM called on the Federal Government, Plateau State Government, and security agencies to immediately investigate the attack, arrest and prosecute the perpetrators, strengthen security presence across Fan District and other at-risk Berom communities, deploy proactive operations around known flashpoints such as the Ropp Hills axis, and provide adequate protection for farming and mining communities.
The association extended its condolences to the family of the deceased, the people of Nding, and the entire Berom nation, while reaffirming its commitment to peace, justice, and the protection of ancestral communities, stressing that it will not remain silent in the face of continuous killings and displacement of its people.
