From Jude Owuamanam, Jos
Coalition of Fulani groups in Plateau State has said it lost more than 350 herdsmen and 850 cows in the last six months.
The group said the losses were more in the Christmas Eve massacre in Barkin Ladi, Bokkos and Mangu local government areas of the state.
Speaking at a press briefing in Jos, yesterday, on behalf of the group, Chairman, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN), Nuru Abdullahi, said between April 14 and July 15, 2023, 115 villages were burnt to ashes, while 23, 515 people were displaced to camps, relatives houses and neighbouring states of Bauchi, Kaduna, Nasarawa and Taraba.
Abdullahi also said the Fulani had also lost property worth billions of naira during the carnage, while killings and rustling of their cows are still ongoing 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 it began early last year when the attacking marauders started unleashing their dastardly acts on Fulani communities from Mangu, where the Fulani communities, culminating in 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 Fulani in Ndun, Tangur ward of Bokkos, on 23/12/2023.
“All the eight dead bodies 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 December 24, 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 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, December 25, 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 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.