Curfew Imposed After Many Killed in Mambilla Plateau

…Five Confirmed Dead, Including Security Operative, as Ethnic Militia Attacks Spread

Authorities in Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State have imposed a 24-hour curfew on three communities in the Mambilla Plateau following violent attacks that left at least five people dead, including a security operative.

CDA News Nigeria reports that the curfew was declared on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, across Mbamga, Mbara, and Geroji communities following renewed clashes that began on Saturday with a fatal altercation between a cattle herder and a farmer in the Mbamga area 

CDA News Nigeria gathered that the violence escalated between Tuesday and Wednesday, spreading to nearby pastoralist settlements. Several homes were destroyed and livestock killed, with many residents, including women and children, displaced. Some reportedly fled to neighbouring Cameroon for safety.

The Chairman of Sardauna Local Council, Mohammed Umar, announced the restriction through his media aide, Marvellous Heli, stating it was instituted to restore calm, protect lives and property, and prevent further escalation.

Residents expressed concern over the response of security forces, particularly the military’s quick-response unit stationed in Gembu, the council headquarters. A resident, Ibrahim Abdu, said: “I honestly do not understand why security forces are stationed here if innocent people on both sides continue to be killed for days without any enforcement of law and order” 

The Mambilla Plateau has a long history of communal tensions rooted in land ownership, ethnic identity, and resource competition between crop farmers and cattle herders. Major violence in 2017 and 2018 resulted in heavy casualties and displacement .