The coalition of communities affected by the recent attacks in Plateau has faulted the claim by some Fulani groups that it lost 350 people from April to December 2023 attacks in the state, describing the claim as “mischievous and calculated attempts to weep up sentiment”.
Addressing newsmen in Jos, Plateau, on Thursday, the Chairman of the Coalition, Barrister Dalyop Solomon Mwantiri, said the figure presented was to fuel their propaganda machine and to probably diffuse attention from the victims of their terror in Barkin Ladi, Bokkos, and Mangu LGAs.
“It’s mind-blowing and, indeed, mischievous to brandish statistics with little or no substantiation or evidence. It should, however, be understood that the aim of their press release was to fuel their propaganda machine and to probably diffuse attention from the victims of their terror in Barkin Ladi, Bokkos, and Mangu LGAs.
“Knowing the killer Fulani herdsmen for who they are, who will imagine that over 350 Fulani are killed and thousands of their cattle rustled with over 115 in one day all rustled or killed, and unbelievably wait until January 7th for a so-called Coalition to make a press release on their behalf?
“Who on Earth will ever believe this? Is this not a diversionary tactic from the alarming Christmas Eve killings and plunder that claimed 257 lives, aside from the over 100 injured, talk less of the over 19,000 displaced and valuables worth millions of naira destroyed?
He stated that it’s undisputed that the Fulani lack customary rights and authority over lands and territories in all Plateau villages and communities except those acquired through purchase, gifts, and goodwill, adding that the Fulani militants have chosen terror as a means of conquest land acquisitions in the 21st century, where constitutionalism, civilization, and civility are the hallmarks of modern society.
Mwantiri, however, disclosed that the Christmas-Eve massacre occurred in 39 villages of Barkin Ladi, Bokkos, and Mangu LGAs, adding that in Bokkos, 19 people were killed, 6 injured, 2851 displaced, and homes and other valuables were destroyed in 3 villages.
In Bokkos, there were 187 killed, over 100 injured, and over 15,231 displaced from 31 villages raided, while in Mangu, there were 52 killed and over 1900 displaced from 4 villages completely overran.
He urged the government to do whatever it could to halt Fulani militants from raiding Plateau hamlets and villages, killing people, displacing them, and disrupting their livelihoods, adding that their sponsors and networks within and outside Nigeria should be burst while the perpetrators and local accomplices be brought to justice.
Mwantiri said the will of the Nigerian state and government is on trial as to whether the terrorists will go on unchecked or whether security agents will rise to the occasion to guarantee the safety of lives and property of citizens in the country.
