The Para-Mallam Peace Foundation has said a terrible genocide is taking place in Plateau State but being made to look like a clash between farmers and herders.
According to the foundation, what is happening is a deadly situation in which armed Fulani herdsmen attack other ethnic groups in parts of the state and in most Middle Belt communities.
President/CEO of the foundation, Rev. Dr. Gideon Para-Mallam, said in a statement yesterday while expressing condolences to the government and people of the state and Nigerians over the Christmas eve attacks in the area.
Para-Mallam said while false and misleading narratives were created, rivers of blood continued to flow, lamenting that this was a disservice to the Nigerian nation and humanity.
He said what happened in Bokkos (and Barkin Ladi) was neither a clash nor retaliatory attacks but a deliberate, targeted, intentional and systematic elimination of whole populations as the pattern had been in some of Middle Belt communities.
The clergy said such killings were disguised and those who should have long taken actions to end them were doing nothing or steps so far taken were not yielding the desired results.
“Arrest the perpetuators, end the killings and promote sustainable peace are proactive steps so urgently needed now,” he said.
He stressed that similar mass and unjustified killings must be brought to an end and only the federal government has the constitutional right and authority to bring this about, saying what happened in Bokkos appeared clearly motivated by genocidal intent, land grabbing and occupation by conquest.
“Should the Plateau State government continue to lament and watch on in helplessness? Should the federal government reduce itself to an entity which only issues condolence press statements with no tangible results while the carnage continues and the aggressors are never found or prosecuted until another round of similar horrible genocidal attacks take place?” he added.
He urged the presidency not to allow itself to be deceived into believing that what is happening in Plateau is a reprisal, as it is not and believing so meant following a misleading narrative which would lead to no peaceful solution.
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