Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State has emphasized that the recent attacks, beginning on Christmas Eve, were not a result of religious conflicts or farmer-herder clashes.
He characterized them as acts of pure terrorism and brutal murders during an interview with news men on Tuesday.
The assaults, initiated by gunmen on Saturday, continued into Sunday, resulting in numerous casualties and displacing hundreds from their communities.
Mutfwang, while recounting the attacks, said, “It’s been a great tragedy. What have we done to be able to get to this point before this current crisis? We resorted to both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies.
“For the non-kinetic, we got into a lot of community engagements trying to unravel remote and immediate causes of the crisis. We’ve been able to sit down with various levels, with the community leaders and that worked. It worked to a large extent because they saw our sincerity.
“They saw our determination to change the narrative, that we didn’t just come to have these discussions as usual just for political correctness. We were able to get to some of the issues that are really touch and affect people.
“But I must say that this recent action has nothing to do with farmers-herders clash, has nothing to do with religion, this is pure criminality, this is pure terrorism, this is just gruesome murder on the eve of a revered day of remembrance. It’s quite unfortunate, but we will continue these engagements and also explore other ways by which we can be able to bring the situation under control.”
Mutfwang noted that the so-called ‘terrorists’ had been active even before he assumed the role of governor. He mentioned that measures were already underway to address these attacks, stating, “Before my inauguration, these terrorists targeted Mangu Local Government, my hometown, previously known for its peace. The attacks persisted in Mangu, my deputy’s area in Riyom, as well as Barakin Ladi and Bokkos. We worked diligently to counteract them.”