Ex- Minister Dalung Attributes Plateau Killings To Terrorists, Not Herders

Solomon Dalung

Comrade Solomon Dalung, former minister of youth and sports, has described the killings in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau state as acts of terrorism — and not the consequence of an age-long farmers-herders crisis in the north.

On Thursday, the Bokkos Cultural Development Council (BCDC) said attackers suspected to be bandits killed over 10 people in the LGA on Wednesday night. On Saturday, the death toll reportedly rose to 52.

The attack came seven days after some gunmen unleashed mayhem on the Ruwi community in Bokkos LGA as mourners gathered in the home of a deceased.

Speaking on Monday when he appeared on the ‘Morning Show’, a programme on Arise TV, Dalung said there is more to the latest killings than meets the eye. 

“One major issue on the Plateau is mislabelling criminals based on ethnic identities or community relations,” he said.

“The violence here isn’t a farmer-herder conflict; it’s terrorism. These groups have an enclave similar to those in the north-east, where they steal cattle, seize land and establish a parallel government in the bush.”

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A former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar blamed the killings on the alleged failure of President Bola Tinubu’s security architecture.

“The failure of Bola Tinubu’s security architecture has now become an endemic nationwide phenomenon with repeated killings, more of which do not even make the headlines,” Abubakar said.

Abubakar advised Tinubu to “reconfigure” the nation’s security architecture in a bid to protect the lives and property of Nigerians.