Plateau community laments 600 deaths

The Mwaghavul ethnic nationality in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State has lamented the loss of over 600 lives to herdsmen attacks on their communities over the past two years.

According to the ethnic group, more than 65,000 villagers have also been displaced and 6,111 houses destroyed as a result of the attacks.

The National President of the Mwaghavul Youth Movement, Kyesmang Yusuf, stated this on Friday.

Mwaghavul has been at the epicentre of recent terrorist attacks that have ravaged several parts of the state.

Plateau State was recently in the news following the killings and burning of houses and property in Bokkos, Barkin Ladi and Mangu local government areas.

“The unprovoked attacks on the Mwaghavul nation have resulted in the sacking of over 30 villages out of 103 affected communities, displacement of over 65,000 villagers, grounding of 6,111 houses and immense loss of over 600 lives, aside from properties.

“For two years, the Fulani terrorists have neither shown any form of remorse for their atrocities nor regard for human life. 

Rather, they have continued to target innocent Mwaghavul people either on their farms or anywhere outside our land,” Yusuf said.

Yusuf condemned the atrocities committed by the armed herdsmen against the Mwaghavul nation, calling for unity among all tribes in the state against their common enemy.

He said, “The Mwaghavul nation has been a victim of coordinated genocide committed by Fulani terrorists against our nation since April 13, 2023.”

 “Although this genocide has become widespread in Nigeria, our local situation has been disturbing, given our shared mutual coexistence for decades.

“Conflict is intrinsic to every society, which is why there are institutional and traditional ways of settling grievances.

“Sadly, the Fulani marauders in our land chose the path of violence in settling their grievances. Nowhere in the world have such strategies yielded positive results in conflict resolution.”

The Mwaghavul Youth Movement raised concerns about a planned attack by gunmen, citing recent accusations by some Fulani individuals as a potential precursor to further violence.

The group urged the government to take concrete actions to empower them to protect their people and land from terrorists, including providing security, investigating incidents, and prosecuting those responsible.

They also called on the Nigerian Army to investigate the recent destruction of crops by the herdsmen in Mangu and other parts of the local government.