by Christiana Gokyo, Jos
Berom community in the Diaspora Coalition (BDC) has called on the international community, Federal, State, and Local Governments to immediately increase security not only for the said activists, but also for all vulnerable hamlets, villages, and communities in Gwol (Barkin-Ladi), Bassa, Bokkos, Jos South, Mangu, Riyom, Qu’anpan, Kanam and Wase Local Government Areas and other affected Middle-Belt States.
They further called on the international community and governments that, in carrying out their Executive Order concerning terrorist networks, they should include the aforementioned bandit-infested areas and others that have been notoriously established as “terrorist enclaves” on the Plateau in their Action Plan.
The representative of Berom in the Diaspora Coalition, Barnabas Dazih, disclosed this on Wednesday in Jos, during a World Press Conference on the prolonged genocide on its people by Funanis bandits.
According to him, their sense of responsibility was to draw national and international attention to the continued, brutal killings of innocent Berom men, women, children and their neighbours the indigenous people of Plateau State and even beyond its borders.
“Overtime, the victims are not only the Berom of Barkin-Ladi (Gwol), Riyom, Jos South, Jos North Local Government Areas, but our peace-loving indigenous brothers and sisters from the surrounding local government areas of the state, including Mangu, Bokkos, Bassa, Plateau Central and even the South, who have been subjected to this massacre by Fulani bandits,” he said.
“And, by going beyond the boundaries of Plateau State, we have witnessed today the same genocide of citizens in Benue State, Southern Kaduna, as well as other parts of Nigeria.
“The Berom people are minority ethnic group in Central Nigeria, mostly found in Jos North, Jos South, Riyom, Barkin-Ladi and parts of Kaduna State. Beromland is bordered by Bokkos to the South, Sanga in Kaduna from the West, Bassa, North West, Jos East from North East and Mangu from the East.”
According to him, “Despite the designation of Nigeria as a ‘Country of Particular Concern,’ the Fulani terrorists have continued the genocide days thereafter, and as such, we see that the proscription has not instilled any concern in the minds of these killers to desist from their pogroms.
“Thus, we are reiterating our stance that government should not only declare Fulani militants as terrorists, but also carry out military operation on all forcefully-established ‘settlements’ so as to flush out the aggressors.
“While ensuring justice is served, and in delivering humanitarian assistance for displaced persons and victims’ families, including medical aid, shelter, and relief materials, the ₦10b once disclosed by the former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, must equally be released and shared to these families.
“While government must ensure these lands cease to be occupied by these Fulani land-grabbers, but rather return our ancestral lands to the rightful victims/owners,” Mr Dazih stated.
He stressed that, “All those responsible should be prosecuted – no matter how highly placed they are – to end the culture of impunity that fuels these atrocities.
“The long-term peace and security measures, which include community-based policing, early warning systems, and dialogue mechanisms that respect local land rights, cultures and traditions should be implemented.”
The Coalition also called on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to rise to the occasion and protect every Nigerian life, while the National Assembly should hold public hearings and pass stronger legislation to curb rural terrorism.
“Also, the international community, including the United Nations, African Union, and ECOWAS, are urged to take note of these crimes and support peace efforts in Plateau State, and also the media, to continue to shine light on the truth and give voice to the voiceless victims of these attacks.”
According to him, “Since 2001 till date, these attackers have invaded homes, set farmlands ablaze, and unleashed terror on sleeping villagers, leaving behind thousands of deaths, trails of blood, tears, and destruction of properties worth hundreds of billions of Naira. From available data, about 10,000 Berom people have been killed.
“Investigative report has confirmed that 151 communities in Plateau State have been displaced. We have compiled some data with very gory pictures from the scenes of some of the attacks.
“As of today, again we emphasize that thousands of our people have been killed, many others are missing, and many more thousands have been displaced, vast territories of lands have been grabbed by the Fulani militants; families are mourning, children have been orphaned, and communities that once thrived in peace now live in fear of extinction.
“The plan today is to reduce the number of Berom people, deny them political representation and deprive them economically, which means, total occupation of Beromland,” he stated.
Also, the BECO President, Gyang Dudu Dalyop, noted that, “They demonized it and called it ‘militia,’” adding that, their people from the National Assembly from the West, from the lower platforms, went on the floor of the National Assembly to castigate and call it names.
“And that is the story going around with Operation Rainbow. We are looking for solutions and that’s the solution we have come here to voice out.”
Speaking also, the BYM President, Barr Dalyop Solomon Mwantiri, asserted that, “What is happening here, and it has been rightly pointed out, is not in any way whether legal; it is more than a head-on commerce clash. Neither is it ethnic clash. But it is a long-standing plan that we carefully implemented by full-on new militants and their other terrorist networks that infiltrated Nigeria.
“What the Fulani are doing is, after oppressing villages and communities, they either raise their red flags claiming ownership, building mosques on foundations of churches destroyed by them.
“A classic example is what happened in Rangu that has been renamed as ‘Manga’ after it was grabbed in 2001. Where the Church of Christ Ignatius established in that place is today where the mosque was erected.
“The Berom community is calling for the Nigerian Government to declare Fulani militants as terrorists, prosecute those responsible for the atrocities, and provide humanitarian assistance to displaced persons and victims’ families.
“The international community, including the United Nations, African Union, and ECOWAS, has been called upon to take note of the crisis and support peace efforts in Plateau State.
“The Berom community has vowed to continue pursuing peace and justice through lawful means, despite the ongoing violence and threats from Fulani bandits.”