•Christians, Muslims, others visit Govt House, seek end to killings
From Jude Dangwam, Jos
The Christian community and Muslim faithful in Plateau State on January 8, 2024, converged at the new Government House, Jos, as the state ended its weeklong mourning to pressure the state and federal government to put an end to the over 20 years of wanton killings and destruction of properties. Over 200 people were recently massacred in Bokkos and Barkin Ladi local government areas of the state.
•The Christian community
Both groups maintained that the years of bloodshed have done more harm than good to the peaceful coexistence of citizens and the development of Plateau State, hence, the need for drastic actions by constituted authority.
The Christian community, led by ECWA president and head of Plateau State Church Denomination Leaders, Rev. (Dr.) Stephen Baba Panya, and the state chapter chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Very Rev. Fr. Polycarp Lubo, said enough was enough of the wanton killings and destruction of means of livelihood in the state.
•The Muslim faithful
While presenting a petition with a 10-point demand to Governor Caleb Mutfwang for onward presentation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on behalf of the Christian community, Panya noted that immediate provision of relief materials to survivors of the recent attacks was paramount.
“For many years, Christians in Plateau State have come under persistent attacks and killings without any decisive action taken to stop the killings. In the last 22 years of killings, no serious attackers and their sponsors have been apprehended and properly prosecuted and sanctioned, to the best of our knowledge.
•Peace campaigners
“Therefore, over the years, the attackers and their sponsors have become more emboldened to continue in their satanic schemes, while Christians are left in pain and sorrow. These attacks are depressing to any sane mind and too barbaric to be happening in a post-modern society. This is why we are gathered here today and in one loud voice declare that: Enough is Enough,” the leaders stated.
The Christian community, who turned out in large numbers in the early hours of the day wearing black attire to register their displeasure over the unprovoked attacks in the state, also carried placards with different inscriptions. Some of the inscriptions said: “Plateau must be free,” “Comfort us! Comfort us!!,” “We are weary,” “Our blood has been wasted for long,” “End the bloodshed in Plateau,” “Reclaim our communities, we are homeless,” and “We are tired of counting our corpses!” among others. They started the walk from the PRTVC roundabout, singing songs of sorrow, to the new Government House, Little Rayfield.
At the moment, the number of people killed is 212 and internally displaced people (IDPs) are estimated to be about 15,000. Ten churches, consisting of Baptist Dares, CAC Mbong, COCIN Maiyanga, COCIN Ndung, COCIN Tahore, CAC Lunghai, COCIN Ngha-buk and COCIN Church Hurum and two others were burnt down.
“All the 10 pastorium were burnt down. Four pastors of COCIN, CAC, Baptist and Assemblies of God were killed in the attacks and a pastor’s wife and his five daughters,” Panya revealed.
A breakdown further showed that “50 women, 20 children and seven physically challenged persons” were burnt in their homes as they were unable to run while 135 men were killed.
Twenty-four cars and buses were destroyed, motorcycles destroyed or stolen by the attackers are about 126. The number of houses burnt is about 403 while 280 water pumps and 403 food barns (storage) were destroyed by the attackers.
The recent attacks are considered to have the worst casualties recorded in the last 20 years of unrest in the state, hence the Christian community called for the establishment of North Central Development Commission by the federal government to rebuild destroyed communities and facilitate the recovery of victims and their reintegration into society, especially within the North Central region of the country.
“We strongly appeal to the federal government to establish the North Central Development Commission (NCDC). This has become necessary following the frequent attacks and wanton destruction of lives and properties across the zone in the last decades.
“We recall that the militancy in the Niger Delta led to the establishment of the Niger Delta Development Commission. Similarly, the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East has led to the establishment of the North East Development Commission.
“Therefore, the massive and unrelenting destruction of lives and properties in the Savannah belt region of the Middle Belt, which has witnessed continuous attacks and killings in Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, Niger states and Southern Kaduna, makes a strong case for the establishment of the North Central Development Commission. This will help immensely in the rebuilding and rehabilitation process of the affected communities.
“The federal government of Nigeria has been called upon to direct the National Emergency Management Agency to immediately commence the process of rebuilding the destroyed communities, pending the establishment of the North Central Development Commission, while a robust and comprehensive security architecture should be put in place to enable all displaced persons to return to their ancestral homes.
“We encourage the federal government to solicit funding and other support from the AU, EU and UN to provide massive humanitarian interventions as well as save the people from impending hunger due to the reality of food terrorism, which has now become a potent weapon in the hands of the terrorists,” the Church leaders suggested.
The Catholic Archbishop of Jos, Most Rev. Dr. Matthew Ishaya Audu, wondered whether the Nigerian government has accepted defeat in fighting insurgency and the ravaging banditry going on in Plateau State and other parts of the country. He said deliberate efforts must be made to restore the confidence of citizens of the country in their government by guaranteeing their safety across communities.
The Muslim community in Plateau State was led by the JNI chairman and Emir of Wase, Dr. Muhammadu Sambo Haruna III, who condemned the killings and reiterated their commitment to peaceful coexistence. He urged the governor and the federal government to ensure that those behind the killings are brought to face the full wrath of the law as a deterrent to others.
The Muslim community pledged to support the state government in actualizing the crackdown on crisis merchants, insisting that lack of arrests and prosecution of the perpetrators of killings in the state has over the years continued to fuel the unabated attacks despite commissions of inquiry and white papers by previous administrations.
“We are here to condole with the governor and the people of Plateau State on this unfortunate killings. The problem is that those who have perpetrated these killings in the past were not dealt with.
“For instance, if those that have been doing this were arrested and prosecuted, we won’t be having a repeat of these killings in our communities. We encourage the government to arrest those perpetrators and prosecute them,” the Emir said.
He advised the governor to revisit some traditional mechanisms used in the olden days in checkmating who comes and goes out of a community, especially the payment of tax and cattle taxes, among other measures.
“Your Excellency, we stand with you and by you. We condemn in totality what has happened and is happening in Plateau State and some parts of Nigeria. I want to assure you that the Muslim ummah in Plateau State are behind you.
“We have one or two people within us, bad eggs are everywhere. And we call on you to go back to what our forefathers were doing in ensuring that not anybody could just come, settle and do whatever he wants and leave.
“There were certain things done in the past to ensure that government has control through the local government or through the traditional institutions, things like community tax and cattle tax,” he said.
The Emir was of the opinion that such measures would help government identify who is coming from anywhere to settle somewhere and do whatever. According to him, in the past, people got a letter from the chief of whereever they were coming from to the chief of where they were relocating to.
“But today, you just go to your farmland and discover that somebody is staying there. Who gave him (visitor) authority to stay here? Nobody. Before you know it, he starts to challenge you. There is no control as to who comes to our communities. Everywhere is absolutely free and that is why we’re are in this, ” the Emir lamented.
He maintained that the Plateau crisis has lasted for over 20 years and nobody has been prosecuted: “So, there is need to hold people accountable for their actions. And as the governor of Plateau there is nobody that is above you. The hand that is causing us this problem, Your Excellency, break that hand.
“People needs to be held accountable for their actions. We cannot continue to live like this, where people are being killed at will.”
Mutfwang, in his separate remarks to the religious bodies, expressed gratitude to them for standing with him in these trying times and promised to transmit their demands to Mr. President. He assured citizens of the state that they were moving from lamentation to action against perpetrators of the crime.
He said: “We have been through a very horrific period over this Christmas and New Year. We have been through hard egg because we desire to live in peace. I want to thank you on how you kept the peace of the land in the face of provocation, you have not allowed yourself to lose your humanity.
“I have told you before that I didn’t come as a governor to preside over burial ceremonies. By the grace of God, we will move from the book of Lamentation to the book of Acts. We will not sit back and watch our people slaughtered.
“We will do everything possible to ensure that this carnage is stopped and ensure our land is secured. The blood of the people shed will not be in vain, it will continue to cry for justice. If we cannot bring the people to justice, we will take justice to them. We are not going to allow this to continue.”