Renewed killings in Plateau
The relative peace which Plateau State has been enjoying in recent times was suddenly shattered by the gruesome killings in separate attacks on villagers in Bassa Local Government Area where thirty five people were killed between Sunday and Monday last week. The first attack happened in the afternoon on Sunday around Baju village where six […]
The relative peace which Plateau State has been enjoying in recent times was suddenly shattered by the gruesome killings in separate attacks on villagers in Bassa Local Government Area where thirty five people were killed between Sunday and Monday last week. The first attack happened in the afternoon on Sunday around Baju village where six Fulani people were allegedly killed. The second attack took place at the Internally Displaced Persons camp inside a primary school at Nkiedonwhro village where twenty nine people were allegedly killed in the early hours on Monday.
The Irigwe community at a press conference by its National President, Sunday Abdu expressed dismay that no Fulani herder was arrested “despite the discovery of a handset” by the security personnel that gave away the owner. But the Chairman, Bassa Local Government chapter of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Alhaji Umar Sangare said his members did not kill anybody. He said when their six children were beheaded by the Irigwe community at Baju village on Sunday afternoon, they reported to the Sector Six Commander of Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) and the DPO in charge of Bassa, who went with them to bury the corpses.
The Sunday attack came a day after the governor, Simon Lalong imposed a dusk to dawn curfew on the local government because of attacks on villages. Last month for instance women and children were killed in Ancha village of Bassa Local Government. President Buhari gave marching orders to security agents to fish out the perpetrators of the dastardly act.
Plateau, which was a dreamlike place to be by both foreigners and Nigerians because of its weather and landscape, suffered major inter-ethnic and inter-religious conflicts from 2001 to 2004. The conflicts consumed hundreds of lives, maimed many and displaced others, while many people relocated to other states to escape the carnage. Millions of naira in businesses and houses were also destroyed. The killings in Yelwan Shendam in 2004 where 600 people were killed made the then president, Olusegun Obasanjo to declare a state of emergency in the state.
During the tenure of two-term governor Jonah Jang (2007-2015), Plateau State again erupted in crises following the local government election of November 20, 2008. Notable among the crises was the one in Kuru Karama in January 2010 where many people were killed and thrown into wells. Buildings, mosques and a police station were burnt. According to Human Rights Watch, one hundred and fifty people were killed in that village. Another one was a “reprisal attack” that took place in Dogo Nahawa village, where hundreds of Christians were killed in March 2010.
However, with the coming of Governor Simon Lalong in 2015 the peace that has eluded Plateau in spite of the Joint Task Force’s special presence soon became a reality. Unlike Jang who was roundly accused of being a party to the conflicts, Lalong sees everybody living in the state as a Nigerian citizen worthy of protection, hence his relative success in maintaining the peace.
The recent upsurge in violence must therefore be nipped in the bud before it spirals out of control and engulfs the whole state once again. These kinds of conflicts between farmers and herders almost always occur either because herders’ cattle ate farmers’ crops or herders accuse local communities of cattle rustling or killing their folk. So-called reprisal attacks soon follow, followed by counter-reprisal attacks. It is up to the Plateau State government headed by the level headed Governor Lalong to break the vicious cycle of attacks and reprisal attacks and get to the root of the latest outbreak of killings. All those who had a hand in the sordid affair should be made to face the music.
Finally, we urge media houses to avoid sensationalism and undue stereotyping in these conflicts. Experience has shown that criminals on all sides ignite these conflicts for their own nefarious ends which end up consuming the innocent including women, children and the elderly.