Governor Mutfwang decries genocidal attacks in Plateau as “bandits now control 64 communities”

Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has sounded the alarm over what he describes as a “sponsored and genocidal” wave of violence that has swept through parts of the state, leaving dozens dead and entire communities displaced.

Appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Mutfwang revealed that 64 communities across Bokkos, Barkin Ladi, and Riyom local government areas have been overrun by armed bandits. He claimed that these groups have forcibly evicted residents, renamed the settlements, and are now occupying the lands “conveniently.”

“There are not less than 64 communities that have been taken over by bandits… They have been taken over, renamed, and people are living there conveniently on lands they pushed people away to occupy,” Mutfwang stated.

His comments follow the April 4 massacre in Bokkos LGA, where suspected bandits killed more than 52 people, according to the Bokkos Cultural Development Council (BCDC). The initial death toll of 10 quickly climbed, marking yet another bloody chapter in the region’s history of violence.

The attack came just a week after armed men stormed the Ruwi community during a mourning gathering, underscoring the region’s growing insecurity.

Mutfwang did not mince words, alleging that the killings were orchestrated by terrorist elements with backing from unidentified sponsors.

“I cannot find any explanation other than genocide sponsored by terrorists,” he said. “The question is, who are the persons behind the organisers of this terrorism? This is what the security agencies must help us to unravel.”

The governor expressed hope that intelligence agencies will act swiftly and collaboratively to expose those behind the violence.

“It is not just the work of ordinary people. This is being sponsored from somewhere,” he emphasized. “We must come to the point where we know the sponsors.”

The crisis in Plateau is not new, but it appears to be escalating. On Christmas Eve 2023, over 115 people were killed in coordinated attacks across Bokkos and Barkin Ladi. More recently, on April 18, 2024, gunmen killed at least 12 people in the Tilengpat community, Pushit district of Mangu LGA.

Just days prior, 10 more people were murdered in separate assaults on Mandar Shar and Kopnanle villages, also in Mangu and Bokkos LGAs. In each case, homes were burned, families were displaced, and communities were left reeling from the loss.

Mutfwang lamented the decade-long pattern of attacks, describing them as part of a deliberate effort to “clean out” indigenous populations from their ancestral lands.