In times of conflict, emotions often run high, and people sometimes feel the need to defend their communities by any means necessary.
This is the situation in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, where recent violence has led to a growing cycle of attacks and counterattacks. At the center of it is the Mwaghavul Youth Movement (MYM), whose leaders have made strong statements about protecting their people.
In a report by Daily Trust, Satmak Bala, the spokesperson for the MYM in Mangu, made it clear that their youth are not the type to start violence. He said the group does not support attacking others without reason. However, he also stated that they have made a firm decision as a community to always fight back if they are attacked first.
According to him, the Mwaghavul people see any attack on their land, people, or culture as something that cannot go unanswered. They believe that failing to respond would mean weakness and could lead to more attacks in the future. For this reason, the youth have taken a stand to protect their chiefdom with or without help from outside.
He emphasized that only God can stop them from responding when their community is harmed. This shows how deeply the people feel about the need to defend themselves. To them, it’s about survival, dignity, and making sure that those who hurt them know there will be consequences.
Satmak also said it was important for the whole world to understand their position. He believes the Mwaghavul people are peaceful but must be ready to fight back when necessary. He called their actions a reprisal—a way of returning the pain they have suffered when their people are killed or attacked.
He said, “I want to assure you that Mwaghavul youth will never go to attack. But we have already sworn that whoever attacks Mwaghavul chiefdom, apart from God, we must go for reprisal. I want you to tell the world that whoever attacks us, we must go for reprisal.”
