A High Court sitting in Jos, Plateau State, has ordered the remand of 20 individuals accused of murdering 13 wedding guests and injuring others in a deadly ambush that occurred in Mangun community, Mangu Local Government Area.
The victims — a group of 32 people made up of men, women, and children — were travelling in an 18-seater bus from Basawa in Sabon Gari Local Government Area of Kaduna State to Kwa community in Qua’an Pan Local Government Area of Plateau. They were on their way to a wedding celebration when they were allegedly ambushed and attacked by armed men.
Initially, the Plateau State Police Command brought 22 suspects before the court in connection with the massacre.
However, legal proceedings were briefly halted when the defense counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Garba Pwul, objected to the inclusion of two minors — aged 13 and 17 — among the defendants. The judge upheld the objection and directed the prosecution to revise the charges, removing the underaged individuals from the list.
After the amendment, 20 defendants were formally re-arraigned on Friday. They now face a four-count charge, which includes allegations of criminal conspiracy, inflicting grievous bodily harm, culpable homicide, and murder. These charges fall under Sections 59, 220, 313, and 187 of the Plateau State Law, Cap 2017.
According to the prosecuting counsel, Samuel Idowu Ikutanwa, the suspects allegedly armed themselves with a range of deadly weapons — including firearms, machetes, cutlasses, and petrol — before executing the fatal attack. All 20 pleaded not guilty when the charges were read.
Following their plea, the prosecution asked the court to fix a date for case management and requested that the accused be held in custody at the Jos Correctional Centre. The defense did not object to the remand but submitted a bail application.
In response, the prosecution noted that it had just received the bail request and required the legally mandated seven days to respond. The court accepted the argument and granted the request to remand the suspects pending further proceedings.
Meanwhile, Plateau State Commissioner of Police, Emmanuel Adesina, told journalists that officers responded swiftly after the attack, deploying personnel and operational resources to the scene to ensure those responsible were apprehended.
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