THE Plateau State Government has filed formal charges against five individuals arrested by the Department of State Services in connection with the March 2026 killings in Angwa-Rukuba, located in Jos North.
The move follows a recent visit by President Bola Tinubu, who assured victims’ families that justice would be served.
According to the charges, the suspects—identified as Isa Umar Ibrahim, Auwalu Abubakar (also known as Auwalu Dogo), and Musa Abubakar Ibrahim (also known as Yaroro) are accused of criminal conspiracy to commit terrorism and other related offences.
Another defendant, Adamu Isa Alhassan, faces additional charges including culpable homicide, illegal possession of firearms, and unlawful arms dealing.
The suspects were apprehended between April 3 and April 10, 2026.
The State Attorney General, Philemon Daffi, stated that their alleged actions violate Sections 269 and 270 of the Plateau State Penal Code Law, 2017.
Court documents allege that the accused conspired in March 2025 to plan, fund, and execute the attack in Angwa-Rukuba, which reportedly resulted in the deaths of over 30 people.
Additional charges against Alhassan claim involvement in a series of armed attacks across communities in Riyom and Jos South local government areas between 2025 and early 2026.
The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned on April 23.
The Angwa-Rukuba incident is part of a broader wave of violence that has drawn national attention.
In response, President Tinubu visited Plateau State, expressing condolences to affected families and pledging that such attacks would not recur.
Amid calls to cancel public events in the state, Governor Caleb Mutfwang rejected the idea, stating that halting activities would play into the attackers’ objectives of instilling fear and disrupting normal life.
Mutfwang also described the killings as genocide, distancing the violence from farmer-herder conflicts and urging the international community to take notice.
The case continues to draw attention as authorities pursue accountability for one of the state’s most recent deadly attacks.
