The Movement for the Emancipation of Nigeria (MEN) has stated that the killings on the Plateau are not a result of farmers and herders’ clash but a systematic ethnic cleansing meant to wipe away indigenous ethnic groups from their ancestral lands in the state.
According to MEN, the revelation by Governor Caleb Mutfwang that 64 communities have been taken over by terrorists all point to a deliberate plan to exterminate indigenous communities and occupy lands.
The movement’s national coordinator, Barr. Salomon Dalung disclosed this while addressing newsmen in Jos, the Plateau State capital.
MEN further demanded the immediate establishment and funding of a Plateau-wide Vigilante System under community control and traditional institutions, adding that the state government should reclaim all the 64 communities reportedly taken over by terrorists, with displaced persons returned to their homes under security guarantees.
The movement also called for sanctions against individuals and groups issuing inciting statements outside the state aimed at legitimising terrorism.
Barr Dalung further argued that Plateau State will not walk alone. Nigeria must not continue down this path of state-enabled ethnic cleansing while masquerading as a democracy.
He called on all oppressed Nigerians, regardless of tribe or religion, to defend truth, justice, and their shared humanity, adding that peace is not a gift from the government but rather the people’s right.
Meanwhile, the movement further disclosed that the discovery of ISWAP cells operating in Plateau State represents an alarming expansion of Nigeria’s insurgency problem into the North-Central region.
According to MEN, security forces under Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) recently arrested two suspected ISWAP members during a sting operation in Shendam LGA of Plateau, stressing that these men, both 25 years old, had disguised themselves as local tailors while secretly working to establish an ISWAP base in the state.
“Preliminary investigations revealed they were acting on directives from an ISWAP commander to set up new terrorist cells in Plateau and neighbouring Bauchi State. This confirms that ISWAP, a jihadist group originally centred in Lake Chad and the North-East region, is actively seeking to expand its footprint into the Middle Belt.”
He also stressed, “The implications are grave. An area already plagued by banditry and communal strife now faces the added threat of a well-organised Islamist insurgency. Unlike sporadic herder-farmer clashes, ISWAP brings sophisticated terror tactics, ideological extremism, and potential links to international terror networks.
“The mere presence of ISWAP operatives on Plateau soil is enough to unsettle the region. It raises fears that kidnappings, or coordinated terrorist attack tactics seen in Nigeria’s northeast could occur in Plateau communities that have thus far not experienced such insurgent violence.”
He argued that this intelligence of ISWAP’s presence injects a new, frightening element into Plateau’s security crisis, one that could dramatically escalate violence if left unchecked.
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