It is unfair to describe Plateau killings as farmers-herders clashes’, says Gov Mutfwang

PLATEAU State governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has stated that it is unfair to the memory of the dead, especially those who were killed in their sleep, to describe attacks in various communities in the state as farmers and herders clash.

He also said the state government will leverage the use of technology to fight insecurity in various troubled parts of the state, adding that the system would ensure that the state is under 24-hour surveillance.

Speaking at a media parley with members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Plateau State chapter, Governor Mutfwang said it was wrong to describe an incident where innocent people were either murdered in their sleep or killed in their farms as a clash.

He said: “Maybe, at the time it began, it was farmers and herders’ clash, but it has ceased to be so. I challenge anyone to say that what happened in December in Bokkos was a clash. It is unfair to the memory of the dead, people who were slaughtered in their sleep, to say it was a clash. We cannot continue to hide the facts; we kept saying unknown gunmen brought them; where do they come from?

“Some are talking of cattle rustling; cattle are not rustling from a particular side. As a child, I knew of many natives that had cows, but today, any native that keeps cows is doing so at the risk of his life. But when you attack a group of people that did not provoke you, would you call that a clash? The Army said they were confronting bandits at the same time in 36 locations simultaneously. Certainly, this is a premeditated and unprovoked attack.

“We keep challenging the security agencies. Where are the suspects? We in Plateau State are ready to prosecute suspects, but they have never handed anyone to us for prosecution.”

Governor Mutfwang further stated that the state is considering the use of technology to fight insecurity.

He added that the new innovation had been tried before but expressed optimism that it would help to checkmate the activities of bandits and other undesirable elements in the state.

He recalled that three weeks before his inauguration, a reign of terror was unleashed on Mangu and Bokos, adding that though the state tried to contain it, with a noticeable decline in attacks by June of last year, until the unfortunate December incidents which cast a slur on the development of the state.

The governor regretted that part of the obstacles to fighting insecurity was the concentration of military apparatuses at the centre.

He said that this had hindered an effective fight against insecurity, as governors, though the chief security officer of their state, do not have the power to command the security forces.

“As you know, part of the challenge of managing security is the federal structure in which we operate because we have a unitary security system in a federal system. And so directives have to come from Abuja, people who are far removed from the scene. They are not proximate to where the challenges are,” he stated.

ALSO READ: South Africa election: ANC loses 30-year parliamentary majority