Plateau Killings: It’s Genocide, a Plot to Wipe Out Natives and Grab Land — Gov Mutfwang

Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State has alleged that the wave of violent attacks in parts of the state is a deliberate and systematic campaign of genocide aimed at displacing indigenous communities and seizing their ancestral lands. Speaking in response to the latest attacks that have rocked Bokkos and Bassa local government areas, the governor insisted that the killings are not random acts of violence but a coordinated effort to terrorize, kill, and forcefully take over fertile and mineral-rich territories.

Since 2023, about 250 people have been killed in Plateau, with nearly 200 of those deaths occurring in December last year when gunmen stormed over 20 communities across Bokkos, Barkin Ladi, and Mangu LGAs. The most recent attacks have left more than 50 people dead across Ruwi, Hurti, Daffo, Josho, Mangor, Tamiso, Tadai, and Rewienku communities. In Hurti, more than 40 people were killed, homes were torched, and hundreds were displaced after gunmen on motorcycles raided the village, looting food and other valuables.

Governor Mutfwang described the attacks as unprovoked and pointed out the repeated pattern: communities are often attacked during the farming season and again during harvest. “These are not reprisal attacks; they are terrorism. They are strategic and target fertile, resource-rich lands. The aim is clear—to drive out our people and take their land,” the governor said.

Former Military Administrator of old Plateau State, Rear Admiral Samuel Atukum (rtd), echoed the governor’s concerns and added that the attackers had even publicly identified themselves. Referencing a press conference held in Kaduna where a coalition allegedly linked to Fulani herdsmen issued conditions for peace, Atukum argued that the state now knows where to begin its investigations. He dismissed the framing of the crisis as mere “herder-farmer clashes,” saying, “How can you have a clash in someone’s bedroom?”

Atukum claimed the attackers hide weapons in rocky hills and insisted that those occupying deserted communities must be treated as either perpetrators or collaborators. He called for herders living in the hills to be declared terrorists and flushed out of the area.

Ambassador Nanpon Sheni, president of the Plateau Initiative for Development and Advancement of the Natives (PIDAN), condemned the attacks as genocidal, targeting defenseless women, children, and unarmed men. He said the attacks were designed to render the state ungovernable and called for full-scale investigations. “Our people are being slaughtered and driven away from their farms. If the attackers think they can take over our ancestral lands, they are mistaken. We will resist to the last man,” Sheni said.

Governor Mutfwang has reiterated the need for the creation of State Police to effectively address the crisis, while Atukum emphasized that such police units must be indigenous to the communities they are assigned to protect.