Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, revealed that the state’s grazing reserve and forests have been taken over by marauding bandits amid the incessant killings.
Mutfwang’s disclosure comes after Plateau residents protested the continued killings by gunmen on Monday.
Engaging stakeholders in a meeting held at the Government House in Jos, the governor urged those present to join him in the fight against the bandits.
“We must rise together and ensure that this blessed land God gave us is preserved and that we maximise the blessings embedded in it.
“While I am open to suggestions — because I don’t possess a monopoly of wisdom — I also believe we must speak up.
“When I came on board, the dominant narrative at national and international levels was that Plateau is suffering from a clash between farmers and herders. I ask you, sir, is that true?
“How can bandits occupy the Wase grazing reserve, and someone calls that a clash? How can they be in the forests in Kanam, and someone says it is a clash?
“When it happened in December 2023 in Bokkos, when gunmen attacked defenceless communities with sophisticated weapons on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, what clash was that?
“Isn’t it time we all unite to reject this falsehood? I look forward to the day when — regardless of religion or ethnicity — any of us is attacked and we all speak with one voice, saying: what is happening on the Plateau is nothing short of genocide perpetrated by terrorists,” Mutfwang stated.
