Mutfwang reports long-standing terrorist occupation of schools in Barkin-Ladi
Governor Mutfwang slams FG over Plateau attacks, says terrorists occupy schools
Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang has slammed the Federal Government for its “lack of political will” to tackle the insecurity crisis on the Plateau, where he said terrorists have been occupying schools and displacing communities for years.
Mutfwang, who spoke on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Tuesday, said the situation on the Plateau has worsened because of the failure of security agencies to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators of the attacks.
He condemned the “unprovoked” attacks on over 15 communities in the Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi Local Government Areas of the state on Christmas Eve, which claimed over 115 lives and left many injured and homeless.
“We must stop this carnage,” the governor said, urging security agents to be proactive and not reactionary.
He revealed that in Barkin-Ladi Local Government, schools have been taken over by terrorists for up to five years, forcing children to relocate and abandon their education. He said not less than 64 communities have lost their lands to the invaders.
The governor said he would appeal to President Bola Tinubu to give clear directives to security agencies to protect the people of the Plateau and their land rights.
He said, “I will be talking to Mr President on this. We need to summon the political will to give instructions to security agencies to protect the territorial integrity of Nigeria and even the internal integrity of our land boundaries.”
Mutfwang attributed the persistent attacks on the Plateau to land disputes, saying that non-indigenous people can acquire lands on the Plateau through peaceful means and not violence.
He said, “There are ways of acquiring lands, not through violence and we must be able to resort to constitutionalism in dealing with these issues.
“People who want land on the Plateau are free to approach the communities, negotiate and settle in those communities. I don’t think people will refuse but where they resort to violence to take over those lands, you will be sure that this is a time bomb because it will reach a time when people react, and we are going to have a large-scale conflict. I pray we don’t get to that point.”
Mutfwang lamented that part of the problem on the Plateau was the perception that the attackers were being shielded by some authorities, as no arrest or prosecution had been made in connection with the heinous attacks over the years.
He said, “Part of the problem we have is that so far, there have been no arrests, no prosecution, and as far as we do not confront this issue headline, some people feel their attackers are being protected.”
He said, “Under the last regime, the feeling of the people in Plateau State, particularly the victims of these terrorist attacks, is that, it looks as if the terrorists were given official government backing to be able to terrorise them because little or nothing was done to repel these attacks.”