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From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The Stefanos Foundation has disclosed that 4,357 people were killed and 1,791 abducted in 686 instances of violence in 2023.
Its Programme Coordinator, Mark Lipdo, who addressed journalists yesterday in in Abuja, on the massacre in Plateau State, last year, noted that in 22 years, (2001 to 2023), the foundation recorded 5,344 instances of violence that claimed 41,879 lives.
“May we bring these records to the notice of the press that, Last year, from 1 January 2023 to 31st December, 2023, Stefanos Foundation recorded 686 instances of violence from 34 states across the Federation; from these attacks, we recorded 4,357 number of persons dead and 1,791 people abducted yet, this does not even show all the instances that have taken place that year, as many may have occur unreported.
“In 22 years, from 2001 to 2023, Stefanos Foundation recorded a total of 5,344 instances of violence that have claimed the lives of 41,879 Nigerians.
“The record shows that 1,296 of these instances were Boko Haram violence that killed 17,406 Nigerians. 1,248 instances were of Fulani attacks that killed 14,605. Others include 2,716 violence by unknown gunmen killing 6,459 people,” he said.
Meanwhile, some leaders in Plateau State have recommended adequate care for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), rehabilitation and resettlement of IDPs, adequate compensation to victims and survivors, diligent investigation and arrest of roaming killers and mercenaries, complete stop to wanton arrests of innocent youths and purge of compromised security personnel.
Also, President, Bokkos Cultural Development Council (BCDC), Prof. Stephen Jackdell Mallo; President, Mushere Chiefdom, Michael Terfok Yilkes; and President, Kulere Chiefdom, Joshua Amoleh Bitrus, also recommended establishment of the North Central Development Commission, immediate eviction of Fulani occupiers of ancestral mountains and indigenous lands and mining sites, recovery of illegal occupation of our land and homes and establishment of mobile police barracks, and ban of open grazing.
“We wish to reiterate that our people (Ron/Kulere/Mushere) are peace loving and accommodating and shall never refuse to live with law abiding Nigerians irrespective of their tribe, religion or race.
“However, we shall also never accept the antics of killer Fulani mercenaries who come to kill, steal and destroy our livelihoods.
“If the goal is to annihilate us through systematic genocide, then we take our case to the Government and God our creator.
“As Christians, we have faith in God who created us and placed us on the land of Bokkos. He will never leave us nor forsake us.
“The fate of Haman in the Book of Esther awaits those who think they are more human than us or have the right to life while we don’t.
“Let the world know that as far as we are concerned, we have no problem with the Fulanis and are not engaged in any so-called “farmer-herder clashes”.
“What we are witnessing is pure pre-meditated mass murder of our people by those who think and value cows and animals over human lives.
“If there are so- called clashes, how come we do not clash with other settlers or people of various ethnic and religious backgrounds in the markets or our communities?
“Do you clash with someone who comes to kill babies, women and the elderly in their sleep? The answer is NO.
“Finally, we thank the people of Plateau state and Nigerians of conscience who have stood behind us in our period of grieve and relentless attacks.
“We appreciate most especially the media who have projected our plight to the world and given the right perspectives in their reportage.
“We urge you to continue to report the truth and shun those who want to twist the truth and hide the evil agenda and activities of our attackers that are now trying to use the media to wash away their atrocities in order escape justice,” they added.
