From Jude Owuamanam, Jos
Coalition of Fulani groups in Plateau state has said that it lost more than 350 herdsmen and 850 cows in the last six months.
The group said that the losses were more in the Christmas Eve masaccre in Barkin Ladi, Bokkos and Mangu local government areas of the state.
Speaking at a press briefing in Jos on Sunday, on behalf of the group, the Chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) Nuru Abdullahi, said that between April 14 to July 15, 2023, 115 villages were burnt to ashes while 23, 515 persons were displaced and stayed in camps, relatives houses and neighbouring states of Bauchi, Kaduna, Nasarawa and Taraba.
Abdullahi also said that the Fulani had also lost property worth billions of naira during the carnage while killings and rustling of their cows are still the ongoing killings and rustling of our cattle in the villages of Mangu, Bokkos, and Barkin Ladi local government areas of the state.
Giving the genesis of the recent crisis, the MACBAN chairman said that it began early last year when the attacking marauders started unleashing their dastardly acts on Fulani communities from Mangu where the Fulani communities, culminating on 21/12/2023 when a herder, Bashiru Bello, was murdered in Kawel, Mushu ward of Bokkos LGA by militia from Mangu and Bokkos Local Government areas.
He said, “Following Bello’s murder, the attackers proceeded to his family house where they assaulted our members who were mourning, resulting in the deaths of eight Fulanis in Ndun, Tangur ward of Bokkos, on 23/12/2023.
“All the eight corpses were recovered by DPO of the Nigeria Police Force, Bokkos Division and Sector 5 Commander of OPSH Bokkos. This incident is in the record of the security agencies.
“On the 24th of December, 2023, 181 cattle were rustled in Mushu village. In an attempt to rescue the cattle, three of the owners were killed. However, due to extensive efforts by security agencies, six (6) of the rustlers were gunned down. This incident is recorded by OPSH and the state police.”
“On 24/12/2023, mobs numbering in the hundreds attacked villages including Makada, Metalem Kop, Kop Mandarken, Moun, Matol, and Ndun. Some were observed wearing mobile uniforms, and numerous houses belonging to our members were burnt down and demolished. Properties, including farm produce and foodstuffs valued at billions of naira, owned by Fulani communities, were looted and destroyed. Hundreds of individuals, particularly women, children, and the elderly, were displaced. The attacks in the mentioned villages resulted in the reported death of 22 people.”
“The attacks persisted on the Fulani communities on Monday, the 25th of December, 2023, as Tashan Maikarfi, Butura Gida, Nbar, Kop, Kwatas, Humat, and Fagin (Fokos) villages were assaulted and set ablaze by the Bokkos militia and their accomplices from Mangu. Additionally, the mob rustled 58 cows in Fagin.”
Abdullahi said Fulani were displaced from their homes in Mangu, Panyam, Pushit, Kerang, Bwoi, Kombun, Ampang, and Mangun. Some of the villages where the Fulani communities were displaced include Bwoi, Kombun, Sarfal, Rinago, Jukga, Kuwes, Kaangag, Farinkasa, Kerana, Lugga Dimeza, Fungong, Gindirin Gok, Bunghan Gida, Milet, Rufwang, Dejwak, Lupo, Wushik, and more.
The group said that the Fulani have been sidelined in distribution of amenities in the state, citing the recent recruitment of 600 individuals by the Plateau State government through Operation Rambo, a state-managed security outfit, without including a single Fulani and the state government’s failure to include even a single Fulani individual in the distribution of a generous donation of N500,000,000 by Her Excellency Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to victims of crises.
The group, while expressing condolence with all those who lost relations and cows, called on the government to probe and prosecute those behind the crises.