The Forgotten Victims: Exposing the Silence Around Muslim Killings in Plateau State

A survivor stands inside a burnt home after the Heipang, Barkin Ladi massacre in Plateau State — A survivor stands in a burnt home after the Heipang, Barkin Ladi LGA massacre.

By Aminu Dahiru Yahaya Heipang (now known as Aminu Dahiru Gurama) is a survivor of the Heipang, Barkin Ladi LGA, Plateau State massacre.

On September 9, 2001, I lost six members of my family including my grandfather, the then Chief Imam of Heipang Jumma’at Mosque, in an attack by our neighbours. Until now, our story has never been told. I witnessed everything unfazed right before my eyes.

It all started on a fateful Sunday, 9th September 2001, barely two days after the Friday crisis in Jos, Plateau State. Community leaders had just concluded a peace meeting when armed Berom men stormed our community in Heipang, Barkin Ladi Local Government Area.

The attackers went from house to house committing unspeakable atrocities — killing, maiming, and burning homes as they moved. I lost six members of my family that day, including my grandfather. He was the spiritual leader of the Muslim community, but it didn’t matter to them. Many others were killed that day, our mosque was attacked, and homes were burned. Our lives were shattered, never to remain the same. We were forced to relocate to neighboring states where we had distant relatives, never to return.

The nation moved on while justice evaded us. None of the security personnel came to our aid. No arrests were made. There was no public outrage. It never made the national headlines. No human rights report. Over the years, I’ve watched for over two decades as the media, state government, and humanitarian groups continued to push a single-story narrative — that Christians are the only victims of religious violence in Nigeria. This lie, or at best this selective truth, has been repeated so many times that it is now assumed to be the only truth.

We are told that Christians are under siege in the North-Central (Middle Belt). But the question remains, Where is the justice and outrage for the Muslims who have died silently, without recognition, in Plateau State and beyond?

Where are the headlines for: