Plateau Youths Allege 250 Killed, Nearly 47,000 Voters Displaced by Bandit Attacks Ahead of 2027 Polls

The Northern Zone Coalition of Indigenous Youth Nationalities has alleged that over 250 people have been killed in sustained attacks by armed bandits across several communities in Plateau State, while nearly 47,000 registered voters have been displaced, raising fresh concerns over security and preparations for the 2027 general elections.

Addressing journalists in Jos on Wednesday, the Chairman of the coalition, Dalyop Mwantiri, said at least 50 people were killed in the last three weeks in attacks on communities in Mushere, Barkin Ladi, Riyom and Bassa local government areas.

According to him, the latest killings came on the heels of earlier attacks that claimed about 200 lives over the past five months before the deployment of operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) to the affected communities.

He lamented that despite the scale of the violence, justice had yet to be served for victims and their families.

“Our communities have become theatres of bloodshed. Our ancestral lands have been violently invaded, our villages reduced to desolation, our farms abandoned, our economic life strangulated, and thousands of our people condemned to lives of displacement, fear and uncertainty,” Mwantiri said.

He added that generations of indigenous residents who should be pursuing development had instead been forced to bury loved ones, flee their ancestral homes and struggle to survive in displacement.

The youth leader said the press conference, organised in collaboration with the Coalition of Plateau State Indigenous Youth Bodies, was intended to draw attention to continued terrorism and banditry in the state and to counter what he described as false narratives surrounding the security situation in parts of Barkin Ladi Local Government Area.

Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that 46,983 registered voters have been displaced by the violence across Plateau State, posing a major challenge to preparations for the 2027 general election.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Sam Olumekun, said the displaced persons are spread across eight local government areas—Bassa, Barkin Ladi, Bokkos, Jos South, Mangu, Kanam, Riyom and Kanke.

He explained that the affected councils comprise 95 registration areas (wards), 29 of which are currently hosting displaced populations.

According to the REC, INEC has begun mapping the affected communities and compiling data to ensure that eligible voters displaced by the attacks are not disenfranchised during the 2027 elections.

He said electoral officers have been directed to identify displaced voters, verify their current locations and determine the status of their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), including those requiring replacement or fresh registration.

The development underscores the growing security and humanitarian challenges confronting Plateau State, with concerns mounting over the impact of continued violence on electoral participation and the safe conduct of the 2027 general elections.