Amidst the lingering outrage over the Christmas Eve massacre that claimed the lives of at least 195 individuals in Plateau State, the Middle-Belt Forum (MBF) announced yesterday that insurgents had issued a fresh threat to the Pushit community in Mangu LGA.
Despite the lack of apprehensions in connection with the previous attack, MBF Deputy National President Stanley Kavwam revealed on Arise TV that terrorists were plotting to strike Pushit on December 29 (today).
Kavwam disclosed that anonymous individuals had delivered letters detailing previous attacks on Mangu LGA.
Simultaneously, the United Nations, the Northern Caucus of the House of Representatives, and Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda called for a thorough investigation into the attacks.
In another development, Bishop Francis Oke, the national president of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), implored Bola Tinubu to utilize the full force of federal power to quell the escalating insecurity, particularly in Plateau State, emphasizing that the restoration of peace could no longer be delayed.
Meanwhile, the convener of the Initiative for a Better and Brighter Nigeria (IBBN), Prophet Isa El-Buba, as earlier reported by Parallel Facts, urged the Tinubu to cut short his holiday in Lagos and address the security crisis by submitting a comprehensive bill for state policing to the National Assembly.
The previous week witnessed coordinated attacks by gunmen in approximately 25 Plateau communities, resulting in the tragic loss of 195 lives, injuries to over 3,000 individuals, displacement of 10,000 people, and the destruction of 1,290 houses.
Kavwam asserted that the military was cognizant of the perpetrators’ identities and their hideouts, revealing that some communities were still under invasion.
“While I was driving down from Jos to this place, I received a call. A letter was sent to my own village by the terrorists that the attackers were going to invade on December 29,” he said.
Speaking further, he said: “In all the attacks that were orchestrated, there was a letter to that effect that was dropped by an anonymous person, intimating the residents of Mangu LGA that there would be attacks.”
When questioned about whether they had alerted the security forces regarding the letters indicating imminent attacks, he disclosed that over 30 distress calls had been made to security personnel prior to the recent attacks in Plateau.
He further stated that the majority of the communities targeted in Plateau were Christian settlements. He added that these operations typically endured for approximately 24 hours without any security intervention.
Kavwam asserted that security agencies were aware of an impending attack before the Christmas Eve massacre.
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His words: “They received about 37 distress calls, that is operation Safe Haven or the Joint Task Force. About 37 distress calls! Yet nothing was done.
“All the casualties that we are talking about are in a community inhabited by Christians and the security forces know the attackers, they even know their hideouts for two decades.
“They know where they orchestrate the attacks because that autonomous community, called Manga, is at the foot of Bokkos hills, bordering Wamba in Nasarawa State to the south.
“It’s this autonomous community these attacks are orchestrated from, just the same way we have in the Mandara hills in Borno State.
“For instance, the military relocated an entire community of over 11,000 people, leaving the entire Dangoa road free for the terrorists to operate.
“Section 14B of the 1999 Constitution as amended stipulates that the welfare and security of the people shall be the primary purpose of government. These attacks could last for as long as 12 to 24 hours and there is no security presence whatsoever.
“Pushit community is in Mangu LGA of Plateau State. A letter was sent today (yesterday) to Pushit that they are going to attack on the 29th.”
He mentioned that even though Tinubu instructed the service chiefs to enhance security in the impacted communities, there has been no improvement, and the attacks persist with no corresponding response from the security authorities.
In the meantime, the Bokkos Local Government Like-minds Association, a socio-cultural group in the Plateau region, has strongly denounced the reprehensible assaults carried out by the herdsmen group across different areas of Bokkos Local Government, as well as certain areas in Mangu and Barkin Ladi local government areas.
These attacks, occurring on December 23, 2023, have led to tragic consequences, including loss of lives, injuries, destruction of property through burning and looting, and the displacement of numerous individuals from their ancestral homes.
A statement signed by the group’s leaders, Dr. Silas Nguwap and Mr. Musa Ngyak, read: “The association is horrified by the recent massacre perpetrated on these communities; Kambar Peli, Ndun, Ngyong, Tahore, Chirang, Sanyang, Tuje, Sundul, Mai Yanga, Mutfet, Ndares, Bodel, Yalya Nono, Butura Campany, Gawarza-Mangor etc in Bokkos local government area. It reiterates its full solidarity with the people and Government of Bokkos local government area and expresses its deep sympathy to the families of the victims.
“While we commend the efforts of the security personnel, we call on them to redouble their efforts, especially on information sharing, arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators. The association frowns on the arrest of victims defending their communities.
‘’We call on the government to release victims arrested and detained while defending themselves. Mobilize resources to provide humanitarian aid, shelter, and assistance to those displaced by these tragic events.”