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A fact-finding committee set up by Plateau State Governor, Barr. Caleb Mutfwang to find the immediate and remote causes of the incessant attacks and killings in the state have identified armed Fulani militias and herder groups as responsible for the violence.
Chairman of the committee, Major General Rogers Ibe Nicholas (rtd), while submitting the report to the governor on Thursday, said his committee drew its conclusion after meeting with various ethnic nationalities and interest groups across the state and also visited all the troubled communities to get firsthand information about the violence and how to provide enduring peace in the state.
The high-powered fact-finding committee also revealed that the Fulani militias and herders who carry out the attacks in the state often come in from neighbouring states like Bauchi, Nasarawa, Kaduna and Taraba States, and after striking, sneak away, leaving a trail of blood and sorrow.
Gen. Rogers, who spoke when handing over the report to Mutfwang, said the perpetrators of the violent attacks that has left over 12,000 people dead and over 500 communities desolate, said all the communities the committee visited consistently identified armed Fulani militias and herder groups as the key aggressors.
He stated that in some local government areas like Shendam and Quan’pan, local disputes involving boundaries, ethnic rivalries, political competition, and youth militias also contributed to violence.
“The committee received a report of disturbances by bandits who are said to have established their cells in two Nasarawa State villages bordering Quan’pan and forcing Plateau communities in Quan’pan to flee,” Gen. Rogers said.
He noted that in some councils, the committee discovered the presence of bandits’ cells linked to suspected extremist organizations.
“In Wase and Kanam, the presence of bandits’ cells with suspected links to extremist organizations was reported.
“The motives driving these attacks are multiple, ranging from control of land and resources, to territorial expansion, ethno-religious dominance, political destabilization, and outright criminal profiteering through kidnap-for-ransom and cattle rustling,” he said.
The report also traced routes that the bandits take to infiltrate the state, stating that the porous borders which include entry points from Nasarawa through Wamba, Lafia, and Awe also aid in the easy access of the communities by the attackers.
“From Kaduna through Lere, Kaura, and Sanga; from Bauchi through Toro, Tafawa Balewa, Bagoro, and Alkaleri; and from Taraba through Ibi and Karim Lamido. These routes are largely unmonitored and exploited by attackers for quick strikes and retreats,” the report said.
Gov. Mutfwang who received the report at the new Government House, Rayfield, Jos, promised to implement all the recommendations towards achieving lasting peace in the state while reiterating earlier calls to political and religious leaders and political in the state to rise in defence of the Plateau heritage and work toward its overall development.
“Receiving this important report is a journey towards peace and putting into proper perspectives the true nature of the violent attacks that have plagued Plateau in the last two and half decades.
“When I took over and began to tell the story of what was happening on the Plateau, I was called names.
“Therefore, I sat down and told myself that for us to convince the authorities and Nigerians with the truth about the nature of crisis in Plateau, we need men and women of proven integrity who will gather, analyze and bring into the public space what has been happening in the last two and half decades,” the governor emphasized.
Fulani militias, herders responsible for attacks, killings in Plateau – Fact-Finding Committee
