Plateau Youths Protest Rising Insecurity, Incessant Killings

Plateau State youths under the aegis of the Coalition of Northern Zone Ethnic Nationalities and the Plateau Youth Coalition yesterday stormed the Plateau State Government House in Jos to protest the persistent attacks in rural communities and other security challenges bedevilling the state.

The protesters, who gathered in front of  the Government House  expressed frustration over the unending killings by bandits and terrorists.

They lamented that even security operatives were no longer safe.

Speaking at the protest, Ezekiel Peter Bini, president of the Plateau Youth Coalition, said the group was compelled to act after suspected bandits ambushed security personnel in Kanam local government area last week, killing about 14 of them.

“As concerned youths of Plateau, we are not happy with what is happening.

” If security agents who are supposed to protect us can be ambushed and killed, then what about us civilians? Our lives are now at the mercy of God,” Bini said.

He noted that even as they gathered, fresh reports emerged of two persons ambushed and killed in Rim, Riyom local government area .

“Plateau State is known as the Home of Peace and Tourism, but bandits are now all over the place. Enough of this killing,  We cannot continue like this,” he added.

Also addressing the protesters, Barrister Dalyop Solomon Mwantiri, president of the Berom Youth Movement (BYM) and chairman of the Northern Zone Coalition, warned that credible intelligence indicated that terrorists displaced by military operations in the North-East and North-West were relocating to Plateau and the Middle Belt as a safe haven.

He stressed that the attacks cut across religious and ethnic lines, as terrorists have targeted both churches and mosques, killing Christians and Muslims alike.

“Nobody is safe. If security operatives are not spared, then every citizen is a target. Their aim is to establish a radical religious regime,” Mwantiri said.

He appealed to the international community, especially the United States, to hasten military intervention and synergise with the Plateau State Government and local security networks to flush out the infiltrators.

The group also came with a list of demands, urging Governor Caleb Mutfwang to forward them to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for urgent action.

They warned that failure to act could lead to further annihilation of residents.

Meanwhile, Ngo Esther Banga, president of the Berom Women Development Association (BWEDA), highlighted the plight of women and children, who she said suffer the most in the crisis.

“We cannot stay freely in our homes or look after our children. When attacks come, our men may be away, and we women are humiliated, raped and killed,” she added.

According to her, the number of widows and orphans is increasing daily. “We are not finding it easy,” she lamented.

Banga called on the government to restore peace so that tourism and normal life can return to the state.

The protesters regretted that Governor Caleb Mutfwang was not on seat to receive them, while the deputy governor and the Secretary to the State Government had travelled for a state function .

Bini announced that the group would reconvene on Monday to present their grievances directly to the governor.

LEADERSHIP reports that the youths later dispersed peacefully after the speeches, pledging to return in larger numbers on Monday.