Plateau Attacks: No Sacred Cows in Quest for Peace, Governor Mutfwang Declares

By David Odama

Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang of Plateau State has vowed to fully implement the recommendations of the fact-finding committee set up to investigate the recurring and devastating attacks in the state.

He said the report’s implementation would be a decisive step toward ending the decades-long orchestrated violence that has claimed countless innocent lives across Plateau’s rural communities.

In a statement by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Dr. Gyang Bere, Governor Mutfwang described the submission of the High-Powered Fact-Finding Committee’s report on the persistent killings and destruction as a historic turning point. He pledged to carry out the recommendations in full.

Receiving the report at the Twin Theater, Government House, Rayfield, Jos, the governor assured that he would present it to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and security experts, so they could gain a clearer understanding of the violence that has plagued the state for over 15 years in search of lasting solutions.

The governor, who criticized the conduct of some individuals and leaders whose public comments, he said, suggest they do not prioritize the welfare of the people, urged Plateau sons and daughters holding positions of influence to defend the state’s heritage and contribute to its progress.

“Receiving this important report marks the beginning of a journey to peace, bringing clarity to the true nature of violent attacks that have troubled Plateau for over two decades.

“When I took office and tried to narrate the reality of the Plateau crisis, I was dismissed. I realized we needed credible men and women of integrity to gather facts, analyze them, and bring the truth into the public domain,” Mutfwang explained.

He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to justice, fairness, transparency, and accountability, stressing that no individual would be above the law.

According to him, only by confronting the issues head-on and exposing the truth can peace be achieved. He praised the committee members—mostly non-indigenes of Plateau except the secretary—for their sacrifice and painstaking efforts to uncover facts, assuring that their recommendations would be implemented justly.

The governor further disclosed plans to recruit 1,000 competent youths from diverse communities into Operation Rainbow to provide early warning intelligence and ensure prompt response to rural distress calls.

Committee Chairman, Major General Rogers Ibe Nicholas, said the team engaged with ethnic groups, stakeholders, and visited affected communities to gather firsthand accounts of the violence and explore paths to enduring peace.

On perpetrators of the attacks, he said: “Communities consistently identified armed Fulani militias and herder groups, often crossing from Nasarawa, Kaduna, Bauchi, and Taraba States, as the main aggressors.

“In Shendam and Quan’pan, local disputes involving boundaries, ethnic rivalries, politics, and youth militias also fueled violence. Reports also revealed bandit groups operating from Nasarawa villages bordering Quan’pan, forcing Plateau residents to flee.

“In Wase and Kanam, cells of bandits with alleged extremist links were identified. Their motives vary—control of land, territorial expansion, ethno-religious dominance, political destabilization, and criminal profiteering through kidnapping and cattle rustling.”

He further revealed that attackers exploit porous borders for infiltration, citing entry routes from Nasarawa, Kaduna, Bauchi, and Taraba States that remain largely unmonitored.

With 420 communities attacked and nearly 12,000 lives lost, General Nicholas warned that Plateau cannot afford to treat the atrocities as routine, stressing that the violence is systematic, deliberate, and devastating in its impact.