Head of Plateau State Church Denomination Leaders and Vice President Christian Association of Nigeria Rev. (Dr) Stephen Baba Panya and the Chairman of Plateau State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Rev. Fr. Polycarp Lubo said the timing of the killings on Christmas Eve and during Christmas celebrations has shown that the attackers had clear intentions and objectives, which were to target Christian communities, take them unawares and inflict maximum casualty on them.
Members of Plateau State Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on Monday organised a peaceful protest at the Government House, Little Rayfield, Jos and strongly condemned the unprovoked and genocidal killings of over 200 innocent and harmless people on Christmas eve in over 25 communities in Bokkos and Barkin Ladi Local Government Areas of the State.
The protest organised by CAN and led by all denominational leaders started from PRTV roundabout Rayfield, Jos to Government House, Little Rayfield where they presented a 10-point demand to Governor Mutfwang to be delivered to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for immediate implementation.
Rev. Panya who is also the ECWA President while presenting the demands of members of the Christians community to Governor Mutfwang explained that the total number of people killed stands at 212 while 10 churches were burnt, leaving person 15,000 displaced.
“The total number of people massacred now stands at 212, Internally Displaced People (IDPs) are estimated now to be about 15,000. Ten Churches were burnt down and the total number of houses burnt is about three hundred and one. 280 Water pumps, and 403 Food Barns (storage) were destroyed.
“For many years, Christians in Plateau State have come under persistent attacks and killings without any decisive action taken to stop the killings. In the past 22 years of killings, no serious attackers and their sponsors have been apprehended and properly prosecuted and sanctioned to the best of our knowledge.
“Therefore, over the years, the attackers and their sponsors have become more emboldened to continue in their satanic schemes while Christians are left in pain and sorrow. These attacks are depressing to any sane mind and too barbaric to be happening in a post-modern society. This is why we are gathered here today and in one loud voice declare that: Enough is Enough! Our honest desire for Plateau State and Nigeria at large is for the people to enjoy peace, unity, stability and progress. We therefore make the following Ten Point demand:
“We call for timely intervention in the provision of emergency relief in terms of food, water, toiletries, sleeping materials and other such necessities. We appreciate the directive given by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to relevant Federal government agencies such as NEMA to mobilise and provide succour to survivors. We also commend the great effort of His Excellency, Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang in not only outrightly condemning the attack, but also taking urgent concrete steps in providing food and other necessities to the
displaced survivors in the IDP camps.
“We unequivocally and emphatically call for an end to these sustained attacks and killings on the Plateau and in Nigeria. We demand immediate justice for the innocent people of Bokkos, Mangu, Riyom, Bassa, Barkin Ladi and other affected communities.
“We commend His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for condemning the dastardly attacks in totality and directing security agencies to go after the culprits and bring them to justice. We note with great encouragement and hope that this is a marked departure from the lacklustre response of the Presidency and the Federal Government during similar attacks in the past. We therefore call on security agencies to align with this new mindset and ensure that the criminals responsible for these heinous attacks are apprehended, prosecuted.
“We unanimously call on the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to as a matter of urgency initiate the process of officially proscribing the armed militias responsible for these mindless killings.
“They should be officially designated as terrorists. This will give the military the power to fully engage them as provided in the Terrorism Act of 2022. It is on record that in 2015, the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) named the armed Fulani militias as the fourth deadliest terror group in the world. Nigeria must urgently act and treat them as such while also engaging other West African countries, through ECOWAS, to do the same thing. A regional approach, consensus and action have become extremely imperative to deal with the menace of the Fulani militias.
“We call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through the Executive Governor of Plateau State, Barr. Caleb Muftwang, to provide adequate security for the 15,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Bokkos who are today located in various temporary Camps and houses of relatives. All communities destroyed should be rebuilt and the displaced people relocated and resettled back in their ancestral homelands as soon as possible.
“We call for an end to the intentional dispossession of land and the current land grabbing through militarization and the activities of these armed militias and bandits which have been going on for long now in Plateau State. Records show that several indigenous villages have been taken over, the people displaced and some of these villages are currently being occupied by these armed militias. This sad reality and social tragedy must change. The displaced people should be resettled back to their ancestral lands and given adequate security.
“We demand an end to the intentional destruction of farm produce and cattle rustling which have become huge security issues. We urge His Excellency Governor Muftwang to look into this and find ways to tackle these issues once and for all. We also call for the construction of food barns which were burnt down with farm produce in the communities attacked. By implication, even if the survivors return to their communities, there would be no food left. Unless there is a timely intervention, the people will face hunger and starvation.
The Christian leaders however appeal to the Federal Government to establish the North Central Development Commission (NCDC).
“This has become necessary following the frequent attacks and wanton destruction of lives and properties across the zone in the last decade. This will help immensely in the rebuilding and rehabilitation process of the affected communities.
“We call on the Federal government of Nigeria to direct the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to immediately commence the process of rebuilding the destroyed communities pending the establishment of the North Central Development Commission.
“A robust and comprehensive security architecture should be put in place to enable all displaced persons to return to their ancestral homes. We encourage the Federal government to solicit funding and other support from the AU, EU, and UN to provide massive humanitarian interventions as well as save the people from impending hunger due to the reality of food terrorism which has now become a potent weapon in the hands of the terrorists.
CAN also calls for the release of all those alleged to have been arrested for legitimately engaged in act of self-defence.
“Where such persons have been arrested as alleged, they should immediately be released because, it amounts to aggravating the pains of the people by security agencies who did not respond on time to protect the communities, to come belatedly and arrest those who were sacrificially and patriotically defending their communities from further attacks.
Responding, Governor Caleb Mutfwang appreciated members of the Christian community for not taking the laws into their hands but instead handed the killers to God for vengeance.
He assured them that he will forward their request to the president within the week for his immediate response.