Plateau Governor Labels Killings In Bokkos As Genocide, Vows To Seek Justice

The Governor of Plateau State, Caleb Mutfwang, has condemned the recent killings in the Bokkos Local Government Area as an act of genocide, calling the violence a calculated effort to impoverish the community and force its residents off their ancestral lands.

In an interview with Arise News on Monday, Governor Mutfwang said the attacks in Bokkos, which occurred in the last two weeks, were unprovoked and targeted vulnerable members of the community.

Naija News reports that he also emphasized that the attacks follow a disturbing pattern observed in previous years, where violence intensifies around farming seasons.

“I would say it unapologetically, what happened in the last two weeks in Bokkos is genocide. I say it unreservedly. No one has given me any reason to believe that what happened was politically motivated,” Mutfwang stated.

He further explained, “There has been a pattern over the years, that we discovered that the onset of the farming season, these attacks normally come in, and then there’s a respite when people manage to go to the farm and farm the little farmlands that remain, and then when the harvest is about to come in, there’s another wave of attacks.”

The governor believes these attacks are part of a coordinated plan to keep the people of Bokkos in perpetual poverty. He also suggested that these attacks might be driven by land-grabbing motives, as communities that are displaced often see their lands occupied.

Despite the ongoing violence, Governor Mutfwang has vowed not to be overwhelmed by the crisis. He is determined to seek solutions and prevent the attacks from further destabilizing the region.

“I cannot be overwhelmed. If there is anything I’m propelled to look to dig in and look for solutions. What can we do better than we have been doing before?” he said. Mutfwang is also exploring how to strategically deploy existing resources to address the situation and is open to suggestions for potential solutions.

“We are not going to be defeated. We are frustrated but we are not going to let this go,” he added, stressing the need for federal government cooperation in bringing the perpetrators to justice.

He also mentioned that some arrests have already been made, with key suspects providing useful disclosures to the security agencies.

“For once, we are determined that people who are found to be guilty will be prosecuted,” Mutfwang declared.

The governor emphasized the importance of preserving the peace and stability the state had achieved in the past year, highlighting that the recent breach in Bokkos is a setback but not a defeat.

“Every Nigerian was singing the praise of Plateau, that peace had returned, and this breach is a setback to us. We will recover from it, and we will push forward,” he affirmed.

Mutfwang reiterated that his administration is committed to improving the lives of its citizens, although he clarified that there were no immediate plans for compensation, given the unexpected nature of the violence.

However, he expressed his intention to reach out to relevant organizations and the federal government to assist those affected by the attacks.

The governor also raised concerns about the increasing proliferation of arms in Nigeria, blaming the country’s porous borders for enabling the flow of weapons into the hands of criminals.

Mutfwang stressed that tackling the issue of illegal arms must be a priority to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

“This issue needs to be addressed so that weapons aren’t put in the wrong hands, in order to prevent incidents like what happened in Bokkos,” he urged.