Plateau Youths Council (PYC), Riyom LGA chapter, has lamented the killings of innocent persons in the local government area in the past few weeks.
They also disclosed that over 58 people have been killed in the past month.
The PYC chairman of the Riyom LGA chapter, Comrade Zang Davou, made the disclosure while addressing newsmen at the NUJ Press Centre, Jos.
He urged the federal government to intervene and ensure that the killings are nipped in the bud.
He said, ” For over two decades, since the year 2002, Riyom Local Government Area has been subjected to a relentless and systematic campaign of violence, solely perpetrated and orchestrated by persons suspected to be armed Fulani militias. This dreaded campaign has been mostly characterized by unprovoked attacks, resulting in the senseless and brutal murder of thousands of our people in cold blood.
” Our once thriving communities have been reduced to rubble, with properties worth billions of Naira utterly destroyed and the very sources of our people’s livelihoods, particularly our farmlands, deliberately annihilated and in some cases rendered completely unproductive.”
He further stressed, “This orchestrated violence has also led to the brazen grabbing of our ancestral lands with no attempts for reversal in spite of the existence of several legal frameworks to address the same.”
According to PYC, these armed militias have continued to dispossess indigenous communities of their heritage and means of survival, and have displaced several more thousands of our people into lives of destitution and uncertainty.”
The Youth group added, “As I address you, these marauders are in possession of the cellphones of some of their victims and pick up calls that are placed on their SIMs.”
“Furthermore, 31 people were severely injured and are currently battling for their lives, receiving treatment in various hospitals, where many are struggling with inadequate resources for better medical care.
“The economic and social fabric of our communities have been further torn apart, with over 82 houses and properties worth millions of Naira deliberately burnt and destroyed.
“Beyond the immediate physical destruction, large hectares of our cultivated farmlands, representing the very essence of our people’s sustenance, have been mowed down and decimated.
“The consequence of this recent surge of violence alone has led to the displacement of more than 15,000 people, who are now living in precarious conditions, without shelter, food, or dignity,” he said.
The group also acknowledged and appreciated the efforts of security agencies and governments at all levels (local, state, and federal) in curbing these attacks, adding that it is imperative to state unequivocally that such efforts, however commendable, cannot be seen as enough.
According to the youth group, governments at all levels need to understand that the magnitude of the problem Riyom local government is facing far outweighs their current response.
The group also lamented that the primary responsibility of government, as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), is the protection of lives and property and the welfare of its citizens. In Riyom, this fundamental responsibility is being severely challenged, and the lives and livelihoods of its people remain gravely imperilled.
The group also demanded the massive, permanent, and proactive deployment of security forces, particularly troops of the Nigerian Mobile Police Force (MOPOL), across all vulnerable communities in Riyom local government area.
