Plateau youths take protest to Govt House over insecurity, rising killings

Youths under the umbrella of the Coalition of Northern Zone Ethnic Nationalities and Plateau Youth Coalition, on Wednesday, staged a protest at the Plateau State Government House in Jos, against persistent insecurity and killings in communities by suspected Fulani bandits and Islamic extremists.

The demonstration stemmed from renewed attacks in rural communities with the youths demanding decisive and proactive action from the state government and security agencies to stem the tide.

The protesters who gathered at the State Government House at about 11am, expressing outrage over continued attacks on local communities, lamented the fresh attacks which they said were worsening the security situation in the state just as security operatives are no longer able to guarantee the safety of the people.

President of the Coalition, Ezekiel Peter Bini, who addressed journalists, said the protest was triggered by recent attacks in Kanam and Riyom Local Government Areas where over 25 persons including soldiers and vigilante officers were reportedly killed.

Bini noted that if security agents who are supposed to protect the people and communities could be ambushed and killed by bandits, then ordinary civilians were more like sitting ducks waiting to be snuffed out.

Also speaking during the demonstration, Barr. Dalyop Solomon Mwantiri, the President of the Berom Youth Movement, BYM, who also doubles as the Chairman of the Northern Zone Coalition, alleged that displaced insurgents from other regions were relocating to Plateau and the other Middle Belt states which further compounds the security challenges faced by the people in rural communities.

Mwantiri noted that the violence has cut across religious and ethnic lines, and called for stronger collaboration between the state government and international partners to tackle the crisis.

In her address, President of the Berom Women Development Association, Ngo Esther Banga, stressed that the impact of the violence on vulnerable groups particularly women and children, has led to an increase in widows and orphans, and called for sustained peace to restore normalcy and revive tourism in the state.