PLATEAU ATTACKS: COUNTERING THE WRONG NARRATIVES
By Golu Timothy
It is quite disheartening and painfully surprising that many years after repeated explanations, some people are yet to, or have refused to come to terms with the truth about the nature of the killings on the Plateau.
The attacks on the Plateau are majorly external invasions by gunmen from outside the state. They are not offshoots of internal conflicts as erroneously portrayed.
This wrong notion is concocted obviously out of mischief by those who seek to tarnish the image of the people of Plateau by projecting them as being unfriendly and also to de-market the state’s hard-earned status as the home of Peace and Tourism. This group of people would leave no stone unturned in spreading and circulating falsehood and bitter lies to diminish the rising profile and image of the state and its people. In the last few weeks, Plateau has lost over a hundred precious souls of men, women, children and the aged to senseless attacks by gunmen who come from outside the state. This is in addition to previous killings in which an uncountable number have lost their lives and many others displaced from their ancestral lands.
Across the state, a large number of internally displaced persons, IDPs filled everywhere as a result of these killings and displacements. We have lost land(s), schools, traditional and religious places of worship and villages to bandits who use dangerous and sophisticated weapons to violently unleash terror on the people. The situation has produced a lot of homeless orphans, widows and widowers who have no choice but to live with relatives where possible or join the camps of IDPs at various locations across the state.
A renowned national security expert and analyst, Dr Kabir Adamu, the Managing Director of Beacon Consulting, gave alarming data on the number of people killed across the country in the last three months of this year. According to him, from January to March 2025, over 3000 persons were killed. In March alone,1300 of this number, lost their lives. He also gave a total number of abductions within the same period as 2600 (January to March) and 600 alone of this happened in March 2025. These also include Plateau where the most recent killings took place. The signs everywhere are very clear that the state is under siege by terrorists who come from outside the state, wreak havoc and return to base, take their time, come back again and do the same thereby keeping the cycle. While they have not been classified as terrorists as obtained in other states of the federation, they are at the same time working hard to sustain the wrong narrative that it’s Plateau people who are killing themselves. It’s so absurd and insulting to hear such narratives indicating that the killings are offshoots of domestic conflicts (ethnic, tribal, religious, political). What is more disturbing is that the federal government seems to have bought into this narrative, giving it a high level of credence.
The truth is that even security agencies who are familiar with the Plateau crisis can tell everyone who cares to listen, that the nature of the problem at stake is that of people coming from outside to kill and maim. Even the international community through its various agencies and Civil Society Groups familiar with the issues are aware that external interests are responsible for the trouble in Plateau. A recent Presidential statement alluding to “underlying issues” on the Plateau crisis speaks volumes about a third force playing the ostrich against the bereaved people of the state.
Part of the statement reads, “Beyond dealing with the criminal elements of these incessant killings, the political leadership in Plateau State, led by Governor Caleb Mutfwang must address the root cause of this age-long problem. These problems have been with us for more than two decades. We can no longer ignore the underlying issues. It is time to tackle them fairly and find a lasting solution”.
This statement jolted all concerned Plateau people having emanated from the Presidency. The truth is that the crisis is not within the doorsteps of the Governor, or any governor that had ruled the state in the past, neither is it within the corridors of the people of the state. It is masterminded outside and executed in the state. It is not in doubt the deep concern and support given to the state government by President Bola Tinubu, neither is it in doubt the love the President has for the people of Plateau. We appreciate greatly the efforts and support of the President. But it seems some persons close to the President are trying to generate new content so that he may get stuck to the wrong narrative. The Presidency should as a matter of objectivity and records, reframe the press statement to reflect reality. It is full of misleading assertions and contradictions. It is not based on facts and figures. It’s a mere hypothesis that has never been tested by any known scientific instrument. The Presidency is talking to the wrong people on the issue of Plateau. My senior colleague and big brother, Onanuga should put the records straight for posterity. The statement did not go down well with Plateau people and all well-meaning Nigerians who know the truth about the happenings in the state. The narrative should be corrected and properly fixed in the interest of objectivity and neutrality.
With the killings and other issues happening across other states of the country, such narratives were never peddled nor anchored against any people. Plateau people will be glad to know of any outstanding underlying factors that require attention for quick resolution so that we can all sleep with our two eyes closed.
We are already overwhelmed, but not hopeless with the loss of our dear loved ones and not devastated enough to reject any underlying issue that will lead to addressing such unprovoked and unwarranted attacks. Our socio-economic life has been tampered with but not broken. Apart from huge human losses, we have lost farmlands and the majority of our people who are farmers can no longer access their ancestral places. Before the Presidential statement was the address of the Chief of Army Staff while on a visit to Plateau. He generated the strange phrase, “underlying issues”. He was quoted to have said there were political aspects that needed to be addressed. We thought the army chief would go ahead to identify such political issues but he did not. His unverified statement led to the ongoing wrong narrative and confusion. This sad narrative, built on an age-long negative impression has been successfully created in the minds of many innocent Nigerians about the crisis in Plateau such that even authorities of government are ignorantly believing.
This is quite unfortunate and very disturbing. The implication is that it is tending to confuse the public and complicate understanding of the serious matter. The fundamental question to ask is, which communities are fighting each other on the Plateau? What are the names of these communities? Is it that the invaders have constituted themselves into a separate community fighting the Plateau block on one side? No one argues with evidence and proof so therefore such evidence and proof of internal communal conflicts are essential to laying to rest the blind narratives. We can boldly say that no Plateau communities are at war with each other and none is fighting the other. We are all worried about the escalating incidents of brutality and inhumanity against us. Within just two weeks, communities in Bokkos, Bassa and Riyom local government areas have witnessed sporadic and carefully orchestrated killings. Coming on the eve of the general farming season also speaks volumes of the intentions of the attackers to intimidate and discourage the people from returning to their ancestral homes even with the huge efforts the state government has put in place to provide security for them. The state government has recorded quite several achievements in the area of security, but these attacks are aimed at puncturing these successes. That’s why its very imperative and strategically important for the federal government and its agencies to pay close attention to the true narrative of the state and help address the issue from this empirical point of understanding. There are routes through which these attackers come to the state, especially through the states that border the Plateau. The borders are very porous and therefore the a need to effectively police them. The federal government can complement the new measures put in place by the state government by banning the use of motorcycles, the movement of cattle in trucks and night grazing. The federal security agencies can do us good by effectively policing our borders with Kaduna, Nasarawa and Taraba to enforce the new measures. The use of aerial surveillance and ground troops to sustain the new order will go a long way to help address the situation. The judiciary must be firm and just to ensure that justice is properly and adequately served. Those arrested must be prosecuted within the area of jurisdiction to avoid politicisation.
The ongoing violent attack, therefore, is not a crisis between communities in Plateau State or misunderstandings between different ethnic and religious groups, it’s purely a criminal act perpetuated by enemies of the state to destroy, displace and supplant.
We have an inter-religious council recently inaugurated by Governor Caleb Mutfwang made up of eminent and respected personalities from both key religious groups to confirm this position.
For a very long time on the Plateau since 2001, we have not witnessed such religious and ethnic upheavals in the state. We only have attacks by faceless people who sneak in the night hours to cause havoc and run away after killing and maiming the people. In all the places attacked, there were no reports of two or more parties engaging themselves in confrontation or any fight. Since the Presidency has promised a thorough investigation, we appeal that it be diligently done to ascertain the truth of what happened. “I have instructed security agencies to thoroughly investigate this crisis and identify those responsible for orchestrating these violent acts. We cannot allow this devastation and the tit-for-tat attacks to continue. Enough is enough”, said Mr President through his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga. The federal government should go beyond that by also ascertaining and verifying the current losses incurred in both human and material terms with the view to getting more facts and helping the victims. A new approach by the Federal government in fighting these organised groups of criminals will go a long way in ending the carnage.
In addition, the issues at stake here have nothing to do with the farmers-herders clash. They are purely those of genocidal instincts expressed through violent and forceful attempts to wipe out our people, and forcefully grab and take over their ancestral lands.
For years the situation has persisted because of a wrong diagnosis leading to wrong or improper medication. No government on the Plateau since the return to democratic rule in 1999 has been spared of this calculated and well orchestrated evil attacks. All the attacks have followed similar patterns all through the years from 1999 to date under the respective successive democratic regimes.
Each time it happens, the perpetrators and their supporters would quickly seek to allude them to internal political issues thereby creating the wrong impression that Plateau people are fighting ourselves. Most times the people are deceived into believing this theory and the result has always been fierce inter political feud and battle among themselves.
Majority of Plateau political stakeholders and players have however overcome this challenge. In spite of our political divides, our priority remains our collective safety and the preservation of our heritage. The realisation that no one is saved as an individual (divided we fall and united we stand) has made every serious Plateau person to be deeply committed to our collective safety.
A lot of suggestions have been put forward by many security experts which we expect the federal government in collaboration with the state government to act upon. Adequate intelligence gathering is required for effective and commensurate application of intervention. Reinforcing security presence along identified entry points is very important to track down those who sneak in and out of the state. Even though security is an item on the exclusive legislative list, its workability is everyone’s business. Even though the governors are referred to as the Chief Security Officers of their states, it is more theoretical than practical as none of the security agencies or their leadership reports to the governors. They may collaborate or cooperate to work together for the good of the state and the people, but the governors have no control over any federal security agency. That’s why some state governors are calling for the creation of state police. That’s why it becomes very imperative for the federal government to go deeper and higher in its intervention.
The sooner the attacks on the people of Plateau are defined and placed in their proper context, the closer we are to solving the problem.
Dr Golu is a Special Adviser to the Plateau State Governor on Strategic Communications
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