MYM Demands Urgent Probe into Alleged Killing of Youth Leader by Soldiers in Plateau
- Group says deceased was shot during community vigilance in Jakatai, demands independent investigation
Our Reporter
The Mwaghavul Youth Movement has condemned the alleged killing of its Mangu Halle District Secretary, Mr. Fwangshak Dawuk, by personnel attached to a military convoy in Jakatai, Mangu Local Government Area, and is demanding an immediate, transparent and independent investigation.
In a statement released on August 9, 2026 and signed by Tubwot Joël Sunday, Director of Public Affairs, the group said Dawuk was shot at about 4:00 pm on Sunday while on community vigilance duty following an attack on Lawuru in neighbouring Barkin-Ladi LGA by suspected Fulani militias.
The MYM described the incident as “deeply troubling and unacceptable” and called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Nigerian Army leadership, the Plateau State Government and human rights bodies to intervene and ensure those responsible are held accountable.
According to the statement, after the attack on Lawuru, Mwaghavul youths in Jakatai mobilized to watch over their community because of its shared border with the affected area.
It was during this vigilance that a military convoy reportedly arrived. Citing eyewitness accounts, the group said soldiers opened fire, killing Dawuk.
The statement further alleged that soldiers picked up the body and took it to Barkin-Ladi General Hospital, presenting him as an emergency case “without immediately disclosing that the individual was already dead.”
The soldiers had reportedly left before medical personnel confirmed the death. “To say what followed has raised even more disturbing questions is an understatement,” the group said.
The youth group said the circumstances surrounding the shooting, the removal of the body, and the conduct of the soldiers “demand urgent and independent investigation.”
It specifically demanded that authorities establish who gave the order to open fire, what transpired between soldiers and youths, the identities of personnel involved, the commander of the convoy, and the operational orders under which they were acting.
The group also called on the military to “immediately preserve all operational records relating to the deployment,” including the identity of the convoy, personnel, command structure, and communication logs.
The youths expressed concern that military operations in the area may have “inadvertently or otherwise provided cover or operational advantage to criminal elements responsible for attacks on neighbouring communities.”
“Security forces cannot be perceived to be protecting citizens on one side while their actions, whether through omission or misconduct, leave communities exposed to armed attackers on the other,” the statement read.
They stressed that “community vigilance should never be treated as a crime” and that citizens protecting their communities “deserve cooperation from legitimate security agencies, not indiscriminate violence.”
The Mwaghavul Youth Movement said the death of Dawuk “must not be dismissed as another casualty in the cycle of insecurity because a man who went out to help keep his community safe must not become another unanswered statistic.”
“Enough is enough. Our communities deserve protection, not persecution by unprofessional personnel.”
“We mourn with the family, friends and entire community of Jakatai and demand justice for the deceased,” the statement concluded.
As of press time, the Nigerian Army and Plateau State Government had not issued an official response to the allegations.
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