On June 10, 2026, at approximately 9:00 p.m., Fulani Islamists attacked Tahos, a predominantly Christian farming community of roughly 500 to 600 residents in Riyom Local Government Area, killing two volunteer security watchmen.
Gun ownership in Nigeria is extremely restricted, yet the Fulani are often heavily armed with AK-47s and, according to local leaders, are increasingly using drones. Christian communities generally have no comparable weapons and lack the resources to hire professional security. As a result, they rely on volunteers, commonly referred to as vigilantes, hunters, or watchmen, who are often armed only with single-shot muzzle-loading rifles.
The Fulani typically operate in large, organized groups that can number more than 100 men. Village watchmen, by contrast, are usually deployed in single digits and often patrol alone in order to cover the vast terrain and multiple approaches to their communities. In a direct confrontation, the watchmen have little chance against such a force. Their role is generally to provide early warning and delay attackers long enough for villagers to flee into the surrounding forests.
In this incident, however, the watchmen were killed before they could carry out that mission.