From: Abdul Abdul, Jos
The President of Berom Youths Moulder-Association (BYM), Barrister Dalylop Solomon Nwantiri, on Thursday alleged that over 20,000 hectares of farmland were destroyed by Fulani militia terrorists on Wednesday night in Jol District of Riyom Local Government Area (LGA) of Plateau State.
Nwantiri told journalists at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Council Secretariat in Plateau State capital Jos that “the terrorist and bandit elements, after destroying the farmland, went away scot-free without any action taken by the soldiers around the area.”
In view of this, the BYM President called on International Organisations “to step into the situation on the Plateau so that whatever is happening in the North East of Nigeria in terms of humanitarian intervention can be replicated in the State.”
Nwantiri said this has become necessary because Plateau State also belongs to Nigeria. “Equity deserves that. It is not that we are praying that something should happen to us. Not that we are praying that terror attacks be unleashed on us so that we can cry out for humanitarian intervention. Not at all,” he said.
He noted that there are many Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in the State which have not been given adequate attention.
“Therefore, we call on the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda and other well-meaning agencies to swing into action and do the same just as they have been doing in other places. They deserve such intervention. Remember, they are human beings,” he added.
The youth leader alleged that all the dastardly attacks on the natives are happening where soldiers of the Operation Safe Haven are stationed closely.
In the face of the alleged “connivance, complicity and compromise by the soldiers,” Nwantiri said he would not say that the military is completely overwhelmed because some of the soldiers later deployed during the attacks performed creditably.
He regretted that all military operations have remained reactive in nature with no single incident of being ahead of the attackers, although most of the attacks appear as isolated incidences.
Speaking on the Bindi/Jebbu in Riyom massacre of July 14, 2025 where at least 27 people were killed, Nwantiri said “there was undeniable receipt and acknowledgement of early warning from stakeholders to the Sector 6 Commander Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Paave.
“Bindi/Jebbu is serviced by at least two nearby military posts which are less than three kilometres away from both ends.”
He said that the attacked community is situated along a trunk “A” federal road, adding that complaints over the terrain or accessibility to the village by the operatives of OPSH are inexcusable.
A youth leader in the area, according to him, was shot dead from behind by a military operative after the attackers had left the scene.
“The Sector 6 Commander of Operation Safe Haven- OPSH’s claim that his men were overwhelmed to the extent that none of the attackers was apprehended, wounded or neutralized is yet another puzzle that needs to be unraveled,” he said.
BYM then demanded “the constitution of an independent panel of investigation to clearly identify the individuals and collective roles as well as find out and unravel the level of compromise and complacency of the Sector 6 Commander.”
The BYM also wants the perpetrators and their sponsors to be equally identified and openly prosecuted.
They also demanded “the immediate and unconditional release of their youths who are under continued unlawful detention after indiscriminate arrest made in Sagas/Gyembus, Jol, Gwom and other places without arraignment as that constitutes a gross violation of their fundamental rights enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.”