Youths protest in Jos against killings, call for self defence

The Plateau State Youth Council (PYC) yesterday called on citizens to as a matter of urgency rise up to defend themselves against continuous attacks and killings in various villages of the state.

The youth in a peaceful protest held at the Federal Secretariat junction, Jos, made the call in the wake of the recent killings in some villages in Mangu Local Government Area of the state, where more than 100 people including women and children were killed, and property worth millions of naira destroyed.

Chairman of PYC, Sunday Adas, who led the protest, expressed concerns over killings in the state.

He said, “We believe that our people and communities now know better that we are second-class citizens in our own country, and that our lives and property do not matter as much. Therefore, the clarion call is, make every effort to help yourself before anyone else does.” 

“We wish to state unequivocally that these killings and acts of terrorism are not coincidental or random happenings, rather, these are premeditated and calculated attacks that aim at uprooting native villages and communities to satisfy the inordinate territorial ambition and supremacy of the Fulani and their cohorts.

“The scale and skills of the attackers speak volumes to the scope, sophistication and quantum of the ammunition and weaponry at the disposal of the said Fulani militias.”

The PYC called on the government to ensure the protection of the lives and property of the citizens.

But reacting, the state chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Nuru Abdullahi, denied the allegation.

He said, “What they are saying that the attack was launched by the Fulani was not true. It is unfounded. Let me take you back to the beginning of this problem. If you could remember, it started as ‘two fighting’ between a Fulani boy and a Muwaghagvul boy in the farm claiming that the farm was destroyed by the Fulani. The Fulani said no, it was somebody else and let’s investigate but he refused.

“The farmer started macheting his cattle. After all, when the brother of that boy who didn’t know anything, while passing by, they stopped him and killed him there and then. How did the Fulani launch these attacks? Now we are counting our dead bodies. Hundreds of our animals were killed. What is the benefit of launching these attacks? These attacks were prepared to annihilate the entire Fulani from Plateau State. 

“These Fulani are indigenes of Plateau State. I condemn the incessant attacks on both sides. It is barbaric. This dastardly act will not help us anymore. I am calling on people of the state to come together to embrace peace.”