Fulani herders responsible for fresh Plateau attacks’ – BYM counters MACBAN
The Berom Youth Moulders Association, BYM, has reacted to a statement by the Plateau State chapter of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN, absolving Fulani herders from Tuesday night’s violent attacks in Heipang and Faan Districts of Barkin Ladi local government area of the state, where 13 people were killed.
Chairman of MACBAN, Ibrahim Yusuf Babayo, had in a statement on Thursday, said the allegations linking Fulani herders to the attacks were false and baseless as security agencies are still carrying out investigations and have not released any statement indicting the herders, stressing that linking herders with the deadly attacks was unfounded and lacked evidence to back them up.
But in a counter statement jointly signed by Solomon Dalyop Mwantiri, President of BYM, and Secretary Bature Iliya Adazaram, and in Jos, the group insisted that the deadly attacks were carried out by Fulani militants.
In the statement, the BYM strongly condemned MACBAN on its stance, blaming the renewed wave of coordinated violence and killings in Barkin Ladi and Riyom LGAs where 31 persons, including minors, were murdered within one week.
The BYM said it has incontrovertible evidence that Fulani herders launched the simultaneous attacks on the night of October 15 on Rachas village in Heipang District and Rawuru village in Fan District, both in Barkin Ladi.
“We have evidence and incontrovertible facts that the attacks were coordinated by Fulani militants,” the BYM statement said.
”The victims of the Rachas massacre included Chollom Danjuma (37), Christy Dung (32), and three children aged between five and ten years. The attackers opened fire while the victims were asleep and then herded away the stolen livestock to Fass settlement.”
The group which also recalled another attack on October 13, where two youths were killed in Wereng Community of Riyom LGA, while two others sustained injuries, stressed that the killings occurred despite the presence of security personnel in the area, accusing some operatives of bias and selective response to the attacks.
The statement also cited a recent ambush on community leaders returning from a meeting at Sector 4 Headquarters, where four people were killed, two injured, and two went missing, a situation it said raised serious concerns over what it called a dangerous pattern, where deadly attacks tend to follow security meetings involving Fulani and Berom representatives.
“On October 8, another attack claimed the lives of a one-year-old baby and three adults in Gabwat village of Fan District. BYM reported that within a week, 12 people were killed in Fan District, 11 in Heipang, and two in Wereng, amounting to one of the darkest weeks for the Berom Nation,” the group said.
It, however, warned that if government and security agencies fail in their responsibilities of protecting the communities, the people may resort to “constitutionally backed self-defence measures.”