Terrorists have threatened to launch more attacks on a Plateau State community on Friday (today), just four days after killing 195 people in 17 communities throughout the state.
In an interview with Arise Television on Thursday, the Middle Belt Forum’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Stanley Kavwam, said terrorists had delivered a letter warning of an impending attack on the Pushit community in the Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau state, where he was born.
When queried about the anticipated attack on the Plateau community, Alabo Alfred, the state police public relations officer, informed reporters that the command was aware of the threat. ”We have intelligence, but we are working on it,” said the PPRO.
A resident of the village, Joshua Bukat, said in an interview with reporters, “Here in the village, we have been living in fear since the news spread that terrorists are planning to launch a fresh attack in our community. In the letter, the terrorists said we would be running in the street with chicken and Christmas rice in our hands.
“As a matter of fact, we hardly sleep because we don’t know when they will come. This is not the first time they would send such letters of their plans to attack, and on several occasions, they had carried out their threat. So, please help us tell the government and the security agents to come to our rescue. They should act quickly to save lives and not take the threat for granted.”
The disturbing finding comes as the United Nations has urged an investigation into the Christmas Eve massacre in which 195 people were killed in 17 villages in the state’s Barkin Ladi, Mangu, and Bokkos local government districts.
The Chronicle NG reports that the coordinated attacks displaced over 10,000 people, many of whom were currently seeking sanctuary in churches, mosques, schools, and private households.
Kefas Mallai, the Chairman of Community Peace Observers in the Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau state, alleged on Tuesday that the gunmen killed around 150 people.
Mallai also stated that evidence showed that the gunmen were still attacking several Plateau villages and that the raids had displaced over 10,000 people.
According to reports on Wednesday, the death toll in the massacre in the Plateau communities had risen to 195.
President Bola Tinubu, important groups, and individuals, including northern governors and House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, all strongly condemned the incident in Plateau state.
Caleb Mutfwang, the Plateau state governor, revealed in an interview on Channels Television on Tuesday that terrorists occupying schools in the local government area had evacuated 64 villages in the state.
The Plateau governor mentioned vulnerabilities in the state’s security architecture, which he claimed needed to be corrected.
President Bola Tinubu issued a statement condemning the attacks and ordering a manhunt for the perpetrators.
Tinubu, who described the attack as “primitive and heinous,” stated, “These envoys of death, pain, and sorrow will not escape justice.”
In an interview with Arise television on Thursday, Middle Belt Forum Deputy National Publicity Secretary Kavwam stated that terrorists planned to assault his hamlet, Pushit, on December 29 (today).
Kavwam said that the military was aware of the terrorists’ identities and hiding places and that security organizations were warned that an attack would be launched in the affected Plateau communities prior to the Christmas Eve slaughter.
He stated, “While driving down from Jos to this place, I received a call. A letter was sent to my village by the terrorists saying that the attackers were going to invade on the 29th of this December (today).
“All the attacks that were orchestrated, there were letters to that effect that were dropped by an anonymous person, intimating the residents of the Mangu LGA that there would be attacks.”
Furthermore, Kavwam disclosed that the military was informed before and during the Christmas Eve attacks in Plateau state.
“They received about 37 distress calls, that is, ‘Operation Safe Haven’ or the Joint Task Force. About 37 distress calls!! Yet nothing was done,’’ he stated.
He added, “They know where they orchestrate the attacks from. The autonomous community called Manga is at the foot of the Bokkos hills, bordering Wamba in Nasarawa State to the south. It’s this autonomous community from which these attacks are orchestrated, just the same way we have in the Mandara hills in Borno State.
When asked to specify the community threatened by the gunmen, he said, “Pushit community in the Mangu LGA of Plateau State; a letter was sent to Pushit today (Thursday) that they are going to attack on the 29th.”
He noted that despite President Bola Tinubu’s directive to service chiefs to intensify security in the affected communities, “nothing has changed, the attacks are still going on, and there is no response from the security authorities.”
The MBF deputy publicity secretary went on to say that General TY Danjuma alleged that the military colluded with these insurgents or terrorists to unleash terror on unsuspecting innocent citizens. The entire Nigerian space was caught up with a lot of, I mean, all manner of accusations, name-calling, and all of that. Are we not seeing that happening today?’’
“Let me give you a classical example. How could a community be invaded, the inhabitants dislodged, and that community is renamed, and they still inhabit that community and the security agencies do not do anything about that?’’
The attackers renamed seven municipalities in the state, he said.
Kavwam bemoaned the fact that his people were being pursued and slaughtered in cold blood with no official involvement to stop the attacks.
Backing up his accusations, he stated that the number of displaced people had skyrocketed as a result of frequent attacks on helpless villages.
He said, “In the Mangu Local Government Area, for instance, the IDP (internally displaced persons) camps keep exploding. With what? internally displaced persons who come to those camps. There is no psychosocial support whatsoever. Imagine the trauma of losing your means of livelihood, your children, and everything else that you may depend on.
“Yet, there is no rehabilitation whatsoever, no psychosocial support. They can hardly even feed some of them. They have wards in school, and they had their education cut off. And at the end of the day, the government should ordinarily realize that we are all citizens of this country and we should be treated equally.’’
The MBF official criticized the security authorities for not doing enough to prevent the attacks, claiming that the militants frequently issue warnings.
“There is no way the security can absolve itself of liability because they (insurgents) do announce before they come. They come in thousands. How could 1,000 people invade the local government area? And there are security agencies in all of those areas. How do they manage to pass, and how do they acquire their weapons?’’ Kavwam asked.
In response to the suspected terrorist plot to assault the Pushit people, state Commissioner for Information Musa Ashoms stated that he would notify Governor Caleb Mutfwang of the threat for possible action.
“I will draw the governor’s attention to it right away,” the commissioner stated.
