FG’s Wrong Perception of Plateau Killings

With the federal government attributing the persistent attacks on Plateau State communities by foreign invaders, allegedly on a land-grabbing mission, to the failure of long-coexisting community members to resolve their differences, it appears there may be no end in sight to the violence. Seriki Adinoyi reports

Just as the people of Plateau State were beginning to heave a sigh of relief after two decades of persistent attacks on residents by gunmen, the assailants struck again in three consecutive attacks in a period of two weeks, leaving no fewer than 112 persons killed, hundreds of others injured, many displaced from their ancestral homes, and at least 80 houses razed.

Gunmen reportedly launched a deadly attack on mourners at the Ruwi community in Bokkos Local Government Area (LGA) of the state, killing 10 persons. The mourners were said to have gathered at a deceased family’s house in the community when the gunmen swooped on them at a wake-keep.

The Chairman of the Community Peace Observers in Bokkos, Mr. Kefas Mallai, said the invaders took advantage of the mourners’ gathering to carry out the heinous act. He added that security personnel were alerted to the attack, but they arrived after the perpetrators had fled the scene.

“I learnt the perpetrators were killer Fulani herders,” Mallai explained. “When the attack was taking place, I learnt security men were called to the village, but before they could arrive at the place, the killers had finished their evil act and fled the scene.”

A few days after the attack, the gunmen returned to the neighbouring villages of Mangor, Daffo, Manguna, Hurti, and Tadai, killing another 52. In less than one week after the second attack, the gunmen struck again, killing about 54 persons at Kwall in Bassa LGA.

The latest death toll suggests that about 3,000 men, women and children have been killed in violent attacks in Plateau since 2023 when the current administration took over the government.

Like in the past, the killings drew condemnations from the federal and state governments, communities, NGOs, and associations.

In their usual rhetoric, security personnel also threatened to deal with the perpetrators.

But the people seem to be fast losing trust in government and security personnel because for two decades, all they have got after every attack has been condemnation, relief materials, and endless threats to deal with attackers without any reasonable action.

Before the latest incidents, the tide of attacks had significantly dropped in the past eight months, and the people enjoyed a bit of respite, even planning for the next farming season. They had been chased away from their farms by previous attacks.

Basking in the relative peace in the state, the people praised Governor Caleb Mutfwang for the strategies he put in place to solve the insecurity issues.

Indeed, the governor equipped the security agents with vehicles and gadgets for rapid response. He also strengthened the state-owned security outfit, Operation Rainbow, to respond to the challenge, among many others. But these were not enough to deter the enemy who now strike persistently.

The federal government, with all its military deployments to the state, has not been able to get it right because of its wrong perception and mindset on the cause of the attacks, which were on display during the recent visit and address of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mr. Nuhu Ribadu.

While calling on the soldiers at the headquarters of Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) in Jos to do more to restore peace and prevent recurring crises in the state, Ribadu also called on the people to live together in peace.

He said, “The sad part of the crisis is that when people, who had lived together as one in communities from time to time, tend to be unable to control issues that could probably be resolved through peaceful dialogue, miscreants and criminals take advantage, and little things will spark crises that will get out of control.”

By his utterances, Ribadu, who represented President Bola Tinubu at the condolence visit, believes that the persistent killings in the state are caused by the inability of members of the community, probably the Fulani and the indigenes who had lived together for ages, to resolve their crises. He, therefore, preached to the communities to learn to tolerate one another.

His position was corroborated by the State House press statement signed by Mr. Bayo Onanuga, where President Tinubu also charged Governor Mutfwang with the necessary political will to resolve the crises and establish enduring peace.

In the statement, the president emphasised the importance of love and unity beyond religious and ethnic lines. He encouraged community, spiritual, and political leaders within and beyond the state to unite and end the cycle of retaliatory attacks that have made life unbearable for affected communities.

“The ongoing violence between communities in Plateau State, rooted in misunderstandings between different ethnic and religious groups, must cease.

 “I have instructed security agencies to thoroughly investigate this crisis and identify those responsible for orchestrating these violent acts. We cannot allow this devastation and the tit-for-tat attacks to continue. Enough is enough.”

Many residents of the state believe that if the government thinks that the attackers are members of the communities who are taking advantage of unresolved disputes among the people who have lived together, then the solution to the problem is far from near.

Invaders who are determined to sack people from their ancestral homes, killed over 112 persons in a space of two weeks and disappeared into the air.

And the federal government is treating the attacks as clashes between people living in the same communities for decades?

Recently, the governor raised the alarm that buildings are now being erected in some attacked communities in Mangu LGA where villagers had been chased away.

The federal government should send security personnel to investigate those erecting the buildings and taking over the lands of the villagers who have been chased away from their communities.

Does it take rocket science to do this?

It has been repeatedly said that these killers are not Nigerians, and are not the Fulani that had lived with the indigenes in the past but foreign terrorists plotting to resettle permanently in Nigeria.

It is believed that until governments at the federal and state levels begin to treat the attackers as foreign invaders, the killings will persist.

Victims have indeed said that the attackers speak the Fulani language during their operations. But the callousness with which they hack down their victims with swords and guns has shown that they are likely not Nigerians.

Native Fulanis who have lived peacefully with their fellow Nigerians for decades cannot turn overnight to massacre their fellow Nigerians in such a gruesome manner.

On some occasions, children’s heads are pierced with swords and the stomachs of pregnant women are ripped open by this set of people many have described as heartless and callous beasts.

The federal government must be held culpable for not living up to its threat of prosecuting arrested perpetrators. Its mindset on what is happening in the state must change.

The residents argued that those feeding President Tinubu with reports that the attacks are perpetrated by members of the same communities who are unable to resolve internal disputes should stop playing politics with the lives of the indigenous people of the state

According to the victims of the attacks, the invaders should be treated as foreign terrorists who kill mercilessly to take over their victim’s lands.

A governor from the North-east had confirmed that their agenda was to bring all the Fulani from the neighbouring countries and resettle them in Nigeria. This revelation is the root cause of the unending crisis in Plateau.

Governor Mutfwang recently stated that the killings in Plateau are meant to scare the people from their homes. This is why the federal government should act fast to stop what has been described as “genocide.” The people are tired of condolence each time an attack occurs, they want a complete stop to the menace.