Community leaders and youth representatives from several local government areas in Plateau State have rejected claims that the violence in their communities is a farmer-herder conflict.
The position was made during a stakeholders’ engagement with security officials and community leaders in Jos, where affected communities demanded urgent government action.
Speaking at the meeting, Irigwe Youth President, Ezekiel Peter Bini, said the attacks should be seen as land grabbing and genocide against indigenous people.
“What is happening to us is purely land grabbing and genocide. When women, pregnant mothers, children and sleeping babies are killed in their homes, it cannot be described as a farmer-herder clash,” he said.
The stakeholders alleged that attackers often bring in armed individuals from outside Plateau State and neighboring countries to carry out attacks before occupying affected communities.
National Publicity Secretary of the Berom Youth Moulders Association (BYM), Rwang Tengwong, claimed that many of those involved in the violence are not known members of local communities.
He alleged that foreign nationals enter Plateau through established routes and participate in attacks on indigenous settlements.
“Today, many of these communities are occupied, and the natives cannot return. If they attempt to go back, they either lose their lives or return with injuries,” Tengwong said.
The youth leader also dismissed allegations that farmers deliberately poison cattle grazing on farmlands.
“We don’t poison cattle. We apply chemicals on our farms. When cattle graze on those farms, the consequences follow,” he explained.
Representatives of Mushere Chiefdom in Bokkos Local Government Area reported that more than 40 communities have been displaced by attacks, leaving thousands unable to return home.
President of the Mushere Youth Movement, Gugam Jones Murakis, questioned the continued occupation of affected communities by attackers. “If it is not land grabbing, why are the attackers still occupying those communities while our people cannot return?” he asked.
The stakeholders called on the Federal Government and security agencies to strengthen security operations, restore displaced communities, improve telecommunications in rural areas, protect farmlands, and ensure justice for victims of attacks across Plateau State.
