Attacks: Fact-finding Committee Submits Report
- Uncovers Infiltration Routes, 420 Attacked Communities, 12,000 Lives Lost
- Says violence coordinated, motives deliberate, sequences devastating
- Govt Vows to Implement Recommendations
Our reporter
The Plateau State Government has received the report of the Gen. Rogers Nicholas-led Fact-Finding Committee on the incessant attacks, killings, and destruction of communities in the state.
Receiving the report in Jos, Governor Caleb Mutfwang vowed to implement the recommendations of the committee.
The governor added that the government would present the report to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and security experts to enable them to have an insight and a true story behind the violence in the state for a durable solution.
Gov. Mutfwang urged all sons and daughters of the state, particularly those in positions of honour, to rise in defence of the Plateau heritage and work towards its overall development; however, he questioned the integrity of some persons who claimed to be leaders, yet their utterances do not portray them as those with the people at heart.
He described the submission of the report as a “journey towards peace and putting into proper perspective the true nature of the violent attacks that have plagued Plateau in the last two and a half decades.”
Gov. Mutfwang said, “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 the crisis in Plateau, we need men and women of proven integrity who will gather, analyse, and bring into the public space what has been happening in the last two and a half decades.”
Reiterating his administration’s commitment to peace, justice, and fairness, marked by transparency and commitment to be accountable to the people, the governor reassured that no individual will be above the law.
He added that it is only when the issues are confronted headlong that the truth and nothing but the truth would be revealed because it is only the truth that can set people free.
While commending the committee for “painstakingly carrying out the rigorous exercise,” the governor expressed delight that his administration sacrificed much to get at the truth and assured that the report would be implemented fairly and justly, for the sake of justice for all.
He announced that modalities were being put in place to recruit 1000 competent and trustworthy youths from various communities in the state into Operations Rainbow to provide early warning intelligence for swift response to distress calls from rural communities in the state.
Chairman of the Committee, Major General Rogers Nicholas, informed the governor that the committee met with various ethnic nationalities and interest groups and visited all the troubled and violence-hit communities to get first-hand information about the violence and how to provide enduring peace in Plateau.
On who the perpetrators of the violent attacks are, Gen. Rogers said, “communities consistently identified armed Fulani militias and herder groups, often from across Nasarawa, Kaduna, Bauchi, and Taraba States, as key aggressors.
“In other Local Government Areas, particularly in Shendam and Quan’pan, local disputes involving boundary disputes, 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.
“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,” Gen. Rogers said.
Tracing the routes of infiltration, the chairman said, “These porous borders include entry points from Nasarawa through Wamba, Lafia, and Awe; 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,” he stated.
Gen. Rogers stated that 420 communities were attacked and nearly 12,000 lives were lost.
He submitted that the state cannot afford to treat such atrocities as business as usual, adding that the violence in the state is coordinated, the motives deliberate, and the sequences devastating.
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