At least, 346 people have been killed in eight local governments of Plateau State within a period of three months.
The revelation is the situation the people in the affected areas have been witnessing in Plateau State, particularly in Mangu local government area where there have been sustained attacks since April 17, 2023 till date.
Gideon & Funmi Para-Mallam Peace Foundation disclosed this in a statement he issued yesterday in which it appealed to all the stakeholders to stop the blame game and ensure the return of peace in the state.
In the statement personally signed by its president, Rev Gideon Para-Mallam, the foundation said, “A total number of People killed in Plateau State from April 17th-July 10th 2023 is 346 people in eight local governments within a short period of time.”
Insisting that it is time for peace concerning the Mangu killings, the foundation notes that on Sunday, July 9, 2023, around 9:00 pm, eight people were killed in Farin Lamba in Riyom local government area of Plateau State.
Para-Mallam states that one woman, a 2-year-old baby and six young men riding their motorbikes and conveying their passengers, even as gunmen came on a killing mission and not finding those they targeted, they started killing those on the highways.
He continued: “Monday morning July 10th 2023 in Vwang Village, Jos South, 2 women were shot dead at Wereng Rim in the same Riyom LGA. Prior to this on Friday July 7th, 15 people were killed and the following day Saturday night July 8th, 13 people: 12 men and a little boy of under 6 years old were killed in Sabon gari village in Mangu LGA. Mangu LGA has become the latest killing fields of Nigeria.
“Death is an equaliser. It will find any of us at some point in life’s journey. This is a fact of life. However, why must human agents serve as life’s terminators? The degradation of the value of human life without respect to our common humanity is beyond comprehension in Nigeria.
“This is what we are witnessing in Plateau State, particularly in Mangu Local Government Area. There have been sustained attacks which have continued unabated since April 17th, 2023 till date.
“Over 300 lives have been lost on the Plateau from April to date. Out of this number, over 200 lives have been lost to sustained violent attacks in Mangu LGA, as on Saturday, July 8th, 2023. The current harvest of deaths in Mangu LGA must be treated with the utmost urgency it deserves.
“The federal government cannot afford to remain silent. Silence suggests looking the other way while the current inhumanity continues. The Federal Government or President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has not issued any official statement condemning the present killings since his being sworn into office on May 29th 2023 till date.
“Two months on yet we still do not have a formal Presidential comment on these killings? What signals are being communicated by such silence remains to be seen but the impunity demonstrated by the immediate past government of President Mohammadu Buhari should not be sustained by his successor. Why keep silent when hundreds of men, women and children are being killed almost daily in Plateau State?
“The Mwaghavul Development Association (MDA), through its national secretary Dr Solomon Mangvwat, reports that a total of 54 villages have so far been attacked during this short period. 208 of their people have been killed, hundreds are missing as several bodies were burnt either in their homes while sleeping at night or in the bush as they fled were killed in the process of escape. Handicap persons unable to flee the attackers were mercilessly killed.
“There are currently 18,751 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who are now housed in 14 camps. The 14 camps are hosted by the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) Local Church Councils (LCCs). A breakdown of the IDPs shows: 2,081 widows, 6,066 Orphans between the ages of 0-5 years old. Old people account for 1,057 old aged persons and teenagers and adult orphans account for 828”.
The foundation further disclosed that while a total of 6,603 households are currently affected by the deadly attacks, the Fulani community claim that the attacks in Mangu are part of a crusade to get rid of them.
The statement added: “This claim was made in a letter dated 19th May, 2023, addressed to the General Officer Commanding the 3rd Armoured Division, Rukuba Barracks, and the Commander Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), Jos, signed by Muhammad Nura Abdullahi, the Chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN).
“Similarly, in a report by a newspaper on 10th July, 2023, Muhammad Nura Abdullahi stated that there was an invasion of Fulani villages in Mangu LGA on Friday, 7th July, 2023 which led to the death of 15 Fulanis and 78 houses destroyed.
“Take it or leave it, a foundation to full blown nation-wide terrorism is being laid. No country should localize and allow acts of terror on its citizens. Whatever the motivation behind these attacks on the Plateau, the fact remains – people are being killed in their hundreds. The burden of these killings should not rest only on the shoulders of the newly sown-in Governor of Plateau State, Barr Caleb Muftwang.:
Suggesting ways to end the gory killings, Para-Mallan said the burden should not rest solely on the shoulders of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu alone, but also on the shoulders of all Nigerians.
He said, “The MDA has a role to play in the search for peace and so also Miyetti Allah in seeking an end to the killings and finding ways to save lives and property. There is wisdom in collective action devoid of finger pointing or political calculations. The lives of all the citizens of Mangu LGA residents matters.
“There is a need for strategic action on the part of the Nigerian government and international community to ensure sustainable peace returns to Plateau State.
“As a peace building Foundation, we believe that peace is possible in Mangu LGA, Plateau State and Nigeria. The Federal Government and Plateau State; indeed, all states in Nigeria need to work together with unity of purpose, across political party lines to find peace for all the troubled hotspots in the entire country.”