By Masara Kim and Lawrence Zongo
(Jos) A wave of terror attacks near Nigeria’s Jos, the capital of Plateau State and a historic center of Christian missionary work in Nigeria, has prompted calls for communities to take self-defense measures. Governor Caleb Mutfwang recently urged residents to form self-defense groups to protect themselves from terrorists aiming to displace and seize control of farming villages. This comes in the wake of bloody attacks that resulted in the deaths of at least 15 civilians between March 23-29, all occurring under the watch of the Nigerian military.
Amnesty International has condemned the violence and accused local authorities of leaving communities “at the mercy of rampaging gunmen.”
“We must be courageous to confront these evil people,” said Governor Caleb Mutfwang, who is himself a Christian attorney and politician. “They can never defeat us,” Mutfwang declared on March 29.
“Young people, this is your time,” Mutfwang said. “You are the ones to defend this land,” said the Governor. “Protect the elderly, male and female, as well as children,” Mutfwang charged when he visited Fofwere, a Christian community 45 miles south of Jos following a terrorists attack that killed 11 residents on March 27.
As he made the declaration at noon on March 29, Christian residents were burying another victim of a similar attack just hours prior some 70 miles away in Bassa County west of Jos. At least four other Christians were killed in sporadic attacks in Bassa County between March 23-24th, TruthNigeria learned.
Who are the killers?
The attacks in Plateau State have been credited to terrorists identifying as Fulani, a large ethnic group with more than 20 million members in West and Central Africa. The group claims around 10 million members in Nigeria. Many Fulani members are engaged in peaceful ventures like trade, education and politics. However, a jihadist faction has reportedly killed six times more Christians than Boko Haram according to the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust, a UK based monitoring group.
Last year alone, Fulani terrorists killed more than 5,000 Christians across Nigeria, according to Intersociety, an international nonprofit monitoring genocide around the world.
For more detail, See the full story, “The Battle for Plateau State,” elsewhere on TruthNigeria.com
Masara Kim and Lawrence Zongo are conflict reporters for TruthNigeria.
