June 10, 2023

The governor of Plateau State, Caleb Mutfwang, has revealed that no fewer than 150 people have been killed in the Mangu Local Government Area of the state in the last three weeks.

The state has over the years been battling with insecurity, often involving the killing of citizens by unidentified gunmen.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, Governor Mutfwang lamented the increase in attacks in the state in recent weeks.

“Last night four people were killed in Mangu. Conservatively, I will put it that in the last three weeks, we have buried not less than 150 people in Mangu local government.

“And as I am talking to you we have no less than 30,000 scattered in various IDP camps that we are having to deal with now,” Mutfwang said.

Asked what he thinks the problem really is, the governor said it is fundamentally a breakdown of trust in both inter-communities and intra-communities which opened the flanks for non-state actors.

He said a new pattern has emerged whereby “80 percent of the situation is pure genocide simplicita against the people of Plateau”.

The governor, who paid a visit to President Bola Tinubu on Thursday, expressed confidence that the Nigerian leader is determined to deal with the situation.

“I had the privilege and honour to have a meeting with Mr President at a very short notice. The meeting centered around the challenges of security in the Plateau and I found Mr President full of listening ears, full of determination to deal with the issues and I think it is going to be a welcome change.

“The response of Mr. President is reassuring, his understanding of the problem was quite comforting, and certainly Mr. President is showing that he has a political will to deal with the issues.

“He is about to rejig the security architecture in the country and I am sure he going to come with a new vigour, with a new sense of patriotism and nationalism that I am sure we will be able to have some respite at the end of the day,” the governor stated.