By James Moses (9News Nigeria, Jos)
The Plateau State government has described as fallacious and misleading claims by a Coalition of Fulani groups that they lost 350 herders and 850 catttles in recurring crisis in the state.
A Coalition of Fulani group made up of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN), GanAllah Fulani Development Association of Nigeria (GAFDAN), Bajoil Fulani, Jonde Jam Kautal Hire and Lawul Fulaku, had addressed the press alleging that between July 14, 2023, and now, 350 of their members were killed while they lost 850 cows to cattle rustling.
But in a swift reaction, Plateau State Commissioner of Information and Communication, Hon. Musa Ibrahim Ashoms, who spoke at a concert organised by the Plateau Youths Peace and Progressive Forum, otherwise known as G17, said the allegation was misleading and a clear misinterpretation of the facts.
Ashoms described the Fulani leaders as harbingers of disunity and called on security agencies to arrest them for spreading false allegations to mislead the public.
The Commissioner who represented Governor Mutfwang at the event, he if asked the allegations were true, why was it not reported to the security agencies and why did it took the so long to come up with these figures?
He said, “we are sad that some groups had on Sunday issued a statement that is not true and said 350 people that belong to to their association were killed. This is not true. We are peace loving -people on the Plateau, we do not kill. When a soul is lost on the Plateau, it puts us in a weeping moment. So they should know and and note that such a thing never happened on the Plateau. We are not killers, we are known for our hospitality. We are known for our industry.
“That is misleading, that is mischievous, that is malicious. We are very,very serious with our people. We cannot be dancing on the graves of our people.
“This is not time for grammar. We’ve lives. We will not come after many weeks to come and cook up bull stories. Please security agencies should arrest this person, This is intelligence they have given us. You cannot just come and say people were killed on 21st, on 22nd and the 24th and nobody heard about it.
“Please security agencies we are using this opportunity to call you to arrest these people because they have shown that they do not like peace.
“They’ve shown that they are habitats of disunity, as a government, we will continue to protect our people. We will work hard to defend our state. So please your prayer is important, accept your solidarity and support.
“These are trying times and government will not relent in our effort. We will not betray the Plateau state.
He said “His Excellency Barrister Caleb Mutfwang has asked me to tell you that weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
“As I started, we are advocating for the state policing because it is obvious that our territory cannot be protected by the Federal might and as a people we are very, very saddened by this situation.
“We are here this evening, courtesy of the Plateau Youths G17 Peace and Progressive Forum to mourn our fallen heroes. The government of governor Mutfwang is doing everything possible to ensure that peace returns to Plateau, he will stand to defend the mandate of our people”
Also, Speakers at the event were of the view that terrorists are taking advantage of the sharp political division among Plateau people to perpetrate genocide in the state.
G17, which is an aggregation of youths from the 17 Local Government Areas in the state gathered Sunday evening to rnourn the hundreds of people killed in Christmas Eve attack in the three LGAs of Barkin-Ladi, Mangu and Bokkos.
In à solemn ceremony, speaker after speaker bemoaned the lost of innocent blood, saying the perpetrators of violence were taking advantage of. sharp divide among the political class, which had made a united concert in Plateau State practically impossible.
Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Ephraim Usman called on Plateau people to close ranks and be vigilant and watchful because many people do not wish the state well.
He said, “I went through the list of the victims and I shook my head, please we have lost a lot. We must stand firm and be strong. By the grace of God we will be united to defeat the enemy. We will not come together to mourn our citizens again, but we must unite together to fight our enemies”.
Mr Chuwang Pwajok, who represented Hon. Dachung Musa Bagos, called on the youths to come together to fight for a tcommon cause and protect their land and people.
Leader of the G17, Rev. Joshua Sati said the group across the 17 LGAs organised a candle light in honour of the persons who were recently killed in some parts of Plateau State.
He expressed dismay over the Christmas Eve killing, while emphasising the heart wrenching realization that these innocent lives were no more.
He called for a change in the nation’s security architecture, advocating for decentralization of security to local communities through commuinity policing.
‘When will Enough be Enough? It is time to change the security architecture of this nation. It is time for us to bring down security to the grass roots, through community policing, we are calling on the government to do the needful”, he asserted.
It could be recalled that over 200 lives were lost and houses razed in Barkin-Ladi, Mangu and Bokkos Local government areas of Plateau state, while many wounded and hospitalised as a result of terrorists attack on Christmas Eve.
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