Governors in the six North-Central states on Tuesday lamented the attacks and killings in Plateau State by gunmen, calling on the Federal Government to do everything possible to get to its roots and find a permanent solution.
The Chairman of the North Central Governors Forum and Governor of Nassarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, said the Plateau killings should not be tagged herder-farmer clashes. Rather, he said what is happening in Plateau is similar to what happened in Rwanda.
The 1994 Rwanda genocide led to the killing of about 800,000 members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group.
The NCGF chairman, on Tuesday, led his colleagues on a condolence visit to the Governor of Plateau State, Caleb Mutfwang, in Jos, during which they donated N100m to the victims of the Christmas Eve attack.
He was accompanied by governors of Niger and Benue states, Mohammed Bago and Rev Fr Hyancinth Alia, respectively.
The PUNCH reports that gunmen, on Christmas Eve, attacked 25 communities in three local government areas of Plateau State, killing over 150 people and razing about 221 houses.
The attacks, which affected Barkin Ladi, Bokkos and Mangu LGAs, led to the displacement of over 10,000 residents of the attacked communities.
Sule, speaking on Tuesday, said the attacks in Plateau had persisted for too long, adding that it was time the Federal Government got to the roots of the problem and a find lasting solution.
He said, “We have seen a similar situation in Rwanda because I won’t call what is happening in Plateau farmer-herder crisis. It’s not. We have seen what happened in Rwanda and luckily, all four of us governors were there and we listened to the President of Rwanda when he told us about the courage that he took to actually invite everybody that is involved and look at the root causes.
“We cannot allow a few people for selfish reasons to come in and destroy all of us. This is not about Fulani. It is about criminals and we are asking the Federal Government to assist us and deal with the problem.”
Sule said the NCGF was in Plateau to sympathise with the governor, wondering what had happened to the peace that used to be enjoyed on the Plateau.
According to him: “When we were coming, we talked about the peace that we have always enjoyed on the Plateau; the love that has always been there, the period that some of us would walk from Dilimi, Rex, Kwararafa, the New Era and back to Kasua Dareng.Those loving periods that all the people in Plateau used to enjoy; what has happened?
“Your Excellency, we came all the way to ask you to take the courage to find out the root cause of this matter because we can’t continue to live like this.
“We are here to share with you whatever situation you find yourself in. I was here on a similar sad note, together with our delegation from Nasarawa State when it happened during the period of your predecessor. And during the period we asked specifically for the religious leaders to be the ones in the majority because we wanted to talk directly with our religious leaders, to talk to them about the need to continue to preach peace to our people.”
Mutfwang, in his remarks, thanked the Governors for their concern over the situation in Plateau, noting that the people of the state were desirous of unity and progress.
Mutfwang said, “Bandits are terrorists and kidnappers are thieves. We need to label them as such so that we deal with them as such. The North Central contains much of the resources of Nigeria and when we face these people as criminals, it will be for the good of all of us. If the North Central gets it right, Nigeria will get it right.”
Meanwhile, suspected Boko Haram terrorists in military uniform have killed 12 persons and abducted one in Gatamarwa and Tsiha communities in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State.
The latest attack came barely two weeks after the terrorists perpetrated a similar attack in Chibok, where they killed two persons and looted food stuff in some houses before settling them ablaze.
“The gunmen shot sporadically at the people in the two communities. So far, 12 corpses were recovered and two were injured,” he said.
He said the police commissioner and other security heads had ordered discreet investigation into the matter to bring the perpetrators to book.
Sources confirmed that the terrorists stormed the community of Gatamarwa around 5pm on Monday during the New Year celebration in large numbers and carrying carrying weapons which they used indiscriminately.
“The insurgents who were heavily armed with AK-47 rifles, came on motorcycles, in Hilux vans and opened fire on mourners returning from Gatamarwa.
“They later attacked another Tsiha community near Shikarkir and killed three people and abducted a young lady. They burnt houses after looting their foodstuffs,” he said.
Recently, attacks have increased in Borno State, grounding the electricity supplies in Borno and Yobe after the insurgents destroyed six 33KVA towers that connected the two states.
With additional reports from PUNCH, Daily Trust