Map of Plateau State
By CHRISTIANA LOT, Jos–
Coalition of Middle Belt Ethnic Nationalities has called on the Federal Government and international organisations to urgently intervene in what it described as a coordinated campaign of extermination against indigenous communities in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Addressing journalists on Friday at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Secretariat in Jos, the coalition condemned the April 2 attack on farming settlements in Bokkos, labelling it a brutal massacre perpetrated by suspected armed herders and terrorists.
Coordinator of the coalition, Professor Abraham Dogo, who spoke on behalf of the group, said the killings were deliberately timed to displace and impoverish indigenous populations at the start of the farming season. He stressed that the victims were not combatants but ordinary farmers working to ensure national food security.
“These innocent and defenceless citizens were mercilessly slaughtered by agents of destruction who have no regard for human life, law, or peaceful coexistence. We are not fighters — we are farmers, peace-loving people who want to live and contribute to the nation’s food security. Yet, we are being hunted down simply for existing on our ancestral land,” he said.
Dogo commended Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, for his swift response and echoed his description of the killings as an act of genocide.
“Governor Mutfwang spoke the truth. What happened was a well-coordinated attempt to wipe out our people — and it came just when they should be cultivating their lands.”
The coalition urged the state government to intensify humanitarian support for the displaced while deploying Agro Rangers under the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to protect vulnerable farming communities. It also called on the Federal Government to demonstrate political will by increasing security presence and ensuring the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators.
“There’s an urgent need to safeguard our peasant farmers. Their lives and farmlands must be protected as the rains begin. Agriculture is our lifeline — we must defend it
“Our Constitution guarantees every Nigerian the right to life. Where is that right when people are butchered and displaced with impunity? The government must act, not just issue statements.” Dogo stressed.
He also urged international bodies — including the United Nations, ECOWAS, African Union, and Amnesty International — to break their silence on what he described as a worsening humanitarian crisis in the Middle Belt.
Dogo warned that sustained attacks on food-producing communities could heighten food insecurity nationwide and pose a threat to national stability and called for unity across ethnic and religious lines in resisting the violence.
“If our farmers — the ones who feed this country — are being slaughtered, then the nation’s future is in danger. This is not just a Plateau issue; it is a Nigerian crisis. An injury to one is an injury to all.”
“Let us not allow them divide us. Whether Christian or Muslim, Berom or Ron, we are one people. We must stand together against the merchants of death.”He emphasized.
The coalition vowed to continue raising its voice until the lives, land, and dignity of Middle Belt communities are protected.
