- Over 160 persons were left dead and properties worth millions of naira were destroyed during the December 24 attack
Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has described the Christmas Eve attacks on communities in the three local government areas of the state as genocide.
Mutfwang, in his New Year broadcast to the people of the state, said the attacks that led to the killing of more than 160 people were not caused by farmer-herder clashes.
The governor stated this as community leaders in the state on Monday appealed to the Federal Government to deploy more troops and military hardware to enhance security in the three troubled local government areas.
Over 160 persons were left dead and properties worth millions of naira were destroyed during the December 24 attack on 17 communities in the Barkin Ladi, Mangu, and Bokkos local government areas by suspected terrorists.
The violence also displaced over 10,000 persons who are currently taking refuge in different locations in the state.
The Secretary-General of Plateau Initiative for Development and Advancement of the Natives, Nanle Gujor, in an interview with The PUNCH on Monday, said the call for the deployment of more troops was imperative not only to forestall a reoccurrence of the ugly incident but to enable the displaced persons to return to their ancestral homes.
The secretary said, “At the moment, we are in a very difficult situation. We are not satisfied at all with the situation of things. The security deployed to the communities so far is grossly inadequate.
“We have been saying that the government knows the strength of these attacks but they just send a very inadequate number of security agents which will not be able to contain the situation. It’s very sad because as far as we are concerned, we have not seen anything to believe that the government is serious about addressing the security challenge in the state, especially those of us that deal directly with the communities because we coordinate all the community activities in the state.
“Unless they are playing a game with what they claim to be doing; if not, they should know that security as we have it now is not enough. More (personnel) should be deployed.’’
Similarly, the Chairman of the Community Peace Observers in Bokkos Local Government Area, Kefas Mallai, urged the government to deploy more security operatives in the LGAs, saying many residents heard the promises by the security chiefs but were yet to see their fulfillment.
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