Governor, Tribal Leaders, Call on Victimized Christian Communities to Arm Themselves
By Mike Odeh James and Luka Binniyat
(Vom) – Some visitors to Jos compare its cool climate to that of San Francisco, and like California, Plateau State is an agricultural powerhouse. But a visit to Plateau’s farm country 20 miles south of Jos, and the comparison ends.
Climate of Fear
“Our people are leaving their farms in fear,” farmer Sylvanus Dung tells TruthNigeria. “Every harvest season, Fulani terrorists invade at night with cattle. By morning, everything is gone.”
The Fulani tribe, claiming up to 20 million members in Nigeria alone, is one of Nigeria’s largest ethnicities.
Sylvanus says families in the three main Vom towns are abandoning both their lands and their livelihoods.
“When we go to the police, there is no help. If we confront the herders, they threaten us with machetes—or worse, death,” he went on to say.
In recent years Armed Fulani militants (FEM) have overrun farmlands, killed scores of farmers, and taken over 150 Christian communities in this Northcentral Nigerian state, TruthNigeria has learned.
Speaking to TruthNigeria, Reuben Buhari, a spokesman for Middle Belt Concerns said that these attacks and annexation of land encompass most of Plateau state.
151 Plateau Communities Annexed by Fulani Terrorists
More than 151 communities with settlement and farming fields covering an estimated area of 2,000 square miles in Plateau state alone had been annexed since the turn of the 21st Century by Fulani terrorists, according to Buhari.
The alarm over Fulani militant expansionism in Nigeria’s Middle Belt was underscored again when a coalition of Plateau State Indigenous Youths held a press conference on May 27, 2024. At the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Secretariat, representatives from the Atakar, Berom, Irigwe, Mwagavwul, and Ron Youths Associations raised urgent concerns over the systematic occupation of ancestral hamlets, villages, and communities by armed Fulani gangs.
Citing a lack of meaningful government response, the coalition alleged that more than 151 communities across Barkin Ladi, Bassa, Bokkos, Mangu, and Riyom LGAs have been forcibly taken over.
An Agricultural Hub Under Threat
Vom lies roughly 99 miles northeast of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, and just 18 miles southwest of Jos. The town sits on the Jos Plateau, home to the Berom ethnic group—predominantly Christian, with most adherents belonging to the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) or the Roman Catholic Church.
The Berom are primarily farmers, cultivating Irish potatoes, acha (known as “hot rice”), carrots, rice, and cowpea. With a population of about 300,000, Vom has long been a critical agricultural hub in the region. Now, that identity is under threat
Traditional Ruler Cries for Help
In Vom, a Berom ethnic area in Jos South County, Plateau State, scores have been killed, thousands displaced, and communities taken over by Fulani Ethnic Militia since 2019, according to several sources.
The traditional ruler of Vom, Da Gyang Balak, whose domain includes Chugwi, Vwang, and Fwil districts, told TruthNigeria that Fulani ethnic militias have taken over large tracts of Berom ancestral land, threatening local farmers and preventing them from cultivating their fields during the critical rainy season.
“Thousands of our people—mostly farmers and hunters—have been forced to flee,” Da Gyang said.
“They are now squatting with relatives elsewhere in the state, living in despair,” he added.
The tribal leader added that the occupied territories stretch to the borders of Bassa South, Ganawuri, Gashi, and Ryom counties. According to him, the violent encroachment began in 2019 and has intensified with little to no government intervention.
Residents say the occupation is aimed at bankrupting the Berom Christian farmers. After that, they will be forced to vacate their phenomenally rich farmland.
Starvation Looms
Another farmer, Daniel Sharin, a father of three and livestock owner, said he borrowed over N20 million ($133,000 dollars) naira in 2024 to expand his potatoes and acha farm. Just before harvest, he arrived at his farm to find over 30 armed Fulani herders grazing their cattle on his crops.
“When I confronted them, five of them cocked their AK-47s with some brandishing machetes at me,” Sharin said. “I left and called the police, but police were too afraid to react.
The pattern of destruction has pushed Vom to the brink. As food production collapses, locals warn of widespread hunger and economic ruin.
So far, there has been no meaningful response from state or federal authorities on the crisis.
The President of Gwan Development Association, Jonah Choji Gwanu told TruthNigeria that apart from frustrating farmers, the terrorists also frustrated the return of Berom people to their ancestral lands.
“Here in the outlying villages of Vom, indigenous people who were driven off their lands, came back and started rebuilding their lands, however, the Fulanis came and pulled down their buildings and erect their own buildings. Furthermore, they also threatened kill the Berom people if they ever tried to return.
He noted that all efforts to get the Federal Government to act proved abortive.
Gwanu also backed the governor’s position. “The attackers are usually armed with AK-47s and bent on grabbing our lands. Recently, terrorists killed innocent citizens right in front of a military barracks. The military didn’t intervene,” he said.
“A military officer later told us they didn’t receive orders to intervene.”
Call For Self Defense
Following the deadly attacks on Plateau communities, the Governor of the state, Caleb Muftwang had urged Plateau residents to defend themselves. In line with the call by the Governor, the Tribal chief of Vom told TruthNigeria that he supports the call for people of Plateau to defend themselves.
“However, this self-defense must be in like and with the support of the Nigeria military
“I will want the Nigerian Army, Civil Defense and Police to be involved in training the Vom Community so that they can defend themselves. He also noted that since the military is stretched, there is nothing wrong with people defending themselves.
The President of Gwan Development Association, Jonah Choji Gwanu also added his voice to the call for citizens of the state involved in self-defense.
“I support the call for citizens of the Plateau to defend themselves because, the attackers are usually armed with Ak-47s and intentionally bent on killing the Berom people as well as grabbing their lands.
“Secondly, sometimes ago, the Terrorists came out town and started killing innocent citizens, the killing happened right in front of a military barracks, and it went in for 3 days, yet the military did not intervene to stop the killing.
“Military officers say they did not receive orders from the Army to intervene to stop the killing, Choji said.
Luka Binniyat and Mike James Odeh are conflict reporters for TruthNigeria based in Kaduna
