Nine or More Killed in Firefights in Taraba State
By Mike Odeh James
(Jalingo, Nigeria) A 24-hour curfew is in force along Taraba State’s border with Cameroon after three days of communal violence that killed nine and sent hundreds scrambling across the forested frontier known as the Mambilla Plateau. The region hosts Nigeria’s highest mountains and shelters endangered species of Chimpanzees and other species of great apes.
Unrest ran from Tuesday, Sept. 15 to Thursday, Sept. 17 in Mbamnga, Mbara and Geroji villages in Sardauna Local Government Area, a wild, sparsely settled no-man’s land of Taraba State.
Sardauna Council Chairman Mohammed Umar imposed the curfew on Sept. 16, covering the three villages, according to a copy of the order seen by TruthNigeria. It was still in force Thursday.
Soldiers of the Army’s 20 Battalion from Serti and Mobile Police were deployed, residents said. Taraba State Police Command had not released a casualty figure as of Thursday. Residents told TruthNigeria they counted nine dead across the three villages. One resident put the toll as high as 15. TruthNigeria could not independently verify the figure, and police did not respond to requests for comment.
The plateau’s natives, the “Mambilla,” have farmed the plateau for centuries and number about 400,000. More than 70 percent of the plateau’s indigenous population is Christian, by church and community counts. Islam is the faith of Fulani pastoralist communities who came later for grazing.
Border Crossing
More than 600 Nigerians, chiefly women and children, have crossed into Cameroon and are sheltering at a site residents identified as the D.S. Nyang campus, short of food and water.
Residents reported houses burned and cattle killed on both sides of the clashes. One resident said an operative of the Department of State Services was killed Sept. 16. DSS has not commented.
Two Accounts
Accounts diverge on what started it. “Their cattle destroyed large portions of our farmlands. When we attempted to drive the cattle away, they confronted us with guns and machetes,” said Reuben Bahago of Mbamnga to TruthNigeria, placing the first confrontation on Sept. 15.
“That same night, heavily armed Fulan-tribei militia stormed all three villages, setting houses ablaze and hacking residents,” he alleged, describing land-grabbing as their motive.
Solomon Abdul told TruthNigeria that houses in 15 communities near Gembu were burned, shops looted and cattle killed on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
Nigerian dailies reported the violence in reverse, blaming Mambilla militia for killings that reached pastoralist settlements by Sept. 16. Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association did not respond to requests for comment. TruthNigeria could not confirm either version.
“Anger and rumor must not destroy the decades of brotherhood we have built,” said Secretary to the Taraba State Government Timothy Kataps said in a Sept. 16 statement. Residents faulted the Army’s quick-response unit in Gembu for not being quick enough.
A Fault Line That Cuts Both Ways
Mambilla is one of the few Middle Belt flashpoints where the documented record of mass killings runs across both Muslim and Christian settlements.
From June 17, 2017, Mambilla militiamen swept Fulani settlements across Sardauna for four days. Amnesty International interviewed survivors and confirmed 141 deaths against lists from families, saying bad roads kept it out of some settlements. Miyetti Allah claimed 351 killed. No prosecutions were announced after 2017 or after the 2018 flare-up that drove thousands into Cameroon, according to Amnesty and residents.
“In June 2017, Fulani Ethnic Militia invaded the same region, prompting reprisals and the death of many people on both sides,” said Adam Adakole of Adakson Security Consultancy.
Adakole points to three reasons the violence matters beyond Taraba.
First, the border. Gembu sits on the Cameroon frontier and families are crossing it again. How Nigeria and Cameroon manage displacement is a test of their security cooperation.
Second, the pattern. “Just like in Takum, Wukari, Benue, Southern Kaduna and Plateau, it is the Fulani militia versus the indigenes, who are overwhelmingly Christians,” Adakole said.
Similar dynamics have played out recently. Armed men described by residents as Fulani struck Ayilamo in Benue’s Logo County on Sept. 10. In southern Kaduna, Kajuru villagers told TruthNigeria they signed informal agreements with armed groups to farm their own land. In Plateau, three villages in Riyom and Mangu were hit Aug. 17, leaving 27 dead, community leaders told TruthNigeria.
Mambilla is different only in that both communities can point to graves. Neither has seen a courtroom.
Third, impunity of bad actors damages Nigeria’s diplomatic relationship with Washington.
On Oct. 31, 2025, the U.S. State Department designated Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act. The Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026, introduced in February by Reps. Riley Moore and Chris Smith, would require annual reporting on prosecutions and individuals under consideration for Global Magnitsky sanctions.
What burns at Mbamnga is felt at Gembu, Nguroje and Warwar, which is why a herd on a farm became a regional emergency in three days.
Mike Odeh James is a conflict reporter for TruthNigeria.
