The death toll from Sunday night’s brutal attack on Zike Kimakpa community in Kwall District, Irigwe Chiefdom of Bassa Local Government Area, Plateau State, has climbed to 53.
Initial figures put the number of deaths at 47, but a source close to the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) confirmed that more bodies were discovered after residents searched nearby bushes.
According to the National Publicity Secretary of the Irigwe Development Association (IDA), Samuel Jugo, 51 victims were given a mass burial on Monday, amid tears and anguish from grieving families and sympathisers.
Eyewitnesses reported that the assailants, suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, stormed the community on motorbikes around 11:32 p.m. and unleashed mayhem until the early hours of Monday. The attackers reportedly went from house to house, killing residents and burning homes. Several people sustained gunshot wounds and are currently receiving treatment at the Plateau State Specialist Hospital and Jos University Teaching Hospital.
The violence has sparked an exodus, with residents fleeing Kwall and surrounding villages for Jos and neighboring local government areas in a bid to escape further attacks.
Jugo stated that there were rumors of an impending attack before the incident, and the security forces in the area were alerted. Despite this, and even though the Sector 3 Commander confirmed deployment, the massacre was not averted. He also questioned the usefulness of the drone station in Kwall, which was not deployed for reconnaissance despite the warning signs.
The IDA has urged both the federal and state governments to act swiftly before the situation deteriorates further.
President Bola Tinubu expressed deep sorrow over the incident. In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu condemned the violence and extended condolences to Governor Caleb Mutfwang and the people of Plateau State.
“The violence must stop. I have instructed security agencies to thoroughly investigate the crisis and identify those responsible. Enough is enough,” Tinubu said, while stressing the need for love and unity beyond ethnic and religious divides. He also called on political, religious, and community leaders to work together to end the cycle of retaliatory violence.
The President noted that the underlying issues fuelling the conflict have persisted for over two decades and must now be addressed directly and fairly. He reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to supporting peace efforts in the state.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar described the incident as further evidence of the failure of the Tinubu administration’s security policy and infrastructure.
In a statement by his media office, Atiku also referenced recent reports of renewed Boko Haram attacks in Borno State, criticizing the Federal Government’s response. He noted that many terrorists and bandits arrested since 2016 remain untried, a failure he believes emboldens violent actors.
“If the government had shown the same urgency in prosecuting terrorists as it does with political critics, it would send a strong message that mass murder carries consequences,” Atiku stated.
He called for the establishment of special courts to expedite the prosecution of terrorists and urged the National Assembly to legislate arming state security outfits with modern weapons to complement overstretched federal forces.
Atiku also emphasized the importance of intelligence sharing from local communities and warned against informants aiding criminal groups. He commended the sacrifices of the nation’s security forces and stressed the need for public support in defeating terrorism.
![UK Supreme Court Declares Transgender Women Not Legally 'Woman' Under Equality Act The United Kingdom Supreme Court has declared that transgender women, even those with Gender Recognition Certificates, do not fall under the legal definition of "woman" as set out in the landmark Equality Act 2010. The judgment, delivered by five justices on Wednesday could upend years of hard-fought progress by the trans rights movement and is already fuelling calls for a redraft of the Equality Act. The case, a flashpoint in an increasingly polarised gender rights war, was triggered by a challenge from gender-critical campaign group For Women Scotland (FWS). Backed in part by author J.K. Rowling and the advocacy group Sex Matters, FWS argued that the term "woman" in the Equality Act must be understood biologically, and not through self-identification or legal paperwork. The Scottish government, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with trans rights advocates, defended its stance. Its lawyers leaned heavily on the Gender Recognition Act 2004, which states that individuals issued a GRC have legally changed their sex “for all purposes.” That, they argued, should include legal protections reserved for women. The Supreme Court’s central concern in its ruling was that treating trans women as women would create insurmountable “practical problems”. “The meaning of the terms ‘sex’, ‘man’ and ‘woman’ in the [Equality Act] 2010 refer to biological sex, as any other interpretation would render the EA 2010 incoherent and impracticable to operate,” the court ruled. The judges noted that protections for pregnant women would collapse unless “man” and “woman” had a biological meaning. They also found that considering trans women with gender recognition certificates as having a female “certificated sex” created further issues. Lord Hodge said that “interpreting sex as certificated sex would cut across the definitions of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ in the [Equality Act 2010] – and thus the protected characteristic of sex – in an incoherent way.” In its reasons, the Supreme Court found that the notion of “certificated sex” would also “weaken the protections given to those with the protected characteristic of sexual orientation,” for example by “interfering with their ability to have lesbian-only spaces and associations”. The justices also found that blurring the boundary of sex would also create “confusion and impracticability” around the provision of “single sex characteristic associations and charities, women’s fair participation in sport, the operation of the public sector equality duty, and the armed forces”. Reacting, the UK Government hailed the “clarity” provided by the Supreme Court’s ruling. “We have always supported the protection of single sex spaces based on biological sex,” a spokesman said. “This ruling brings clarity and confidence, for women and service providers such as hospitals, refuges, and sports clubs. “Single sex spaces are protected in law and will always be protected by this Government.”](https://newsbulletin.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1744804310668-300x169.jpg)
