A report of the fact-finding committee on the incessant killings in Plateau State, constituted by Governor Caleb Mutfwang, has indicated that attackers often come from neighbouring states.

The Chairman of the Committee, Major General Rogers Ibe Nicholas, said the committee met with various ethnic nationalities and interest groups and visited all the troubled and violence-hit communities to get first-hand information about the violence and how to provide enduring peace in Plateau.

He said from their findings, the attackers who unleash mayhem on communities in Plateau State often come from Nasarawa, Kaduna, Bauchi and Taraba states

“The committee received a report of disturbances by bandits who are said to have established their cells in two villages of Nasarawa State bordering Quan’pan and forcing Plateau communities in Quan’pan to flee.

“In Wase and Kanam, the presence of bandits’ cells with suspected links to extremist organisations was reported.

“The motives driving these attacks are multiple, ranging from control of land and resources, to territorial expansion, ethno-religious dominance, political destabilization, and outright criminal profiteering through kidnap-for-ransom and cattle rustling.

“These porous borders include entry ports from Nasarawa through Wamba, Lafia and Awe; from Kaduna through Lere, Kaura and Sanga; from Bauchi through Toro, Tafawa Balewa, Bagoro and Alkaleri; and from Taraba through Ibi and Karim Lamido. These routes are largely unmonitored and exploited by attackers for quick strikes and retreats,” he added.

He stressed that with 420 communities attacked and nearly 12,000 lives lost, Plateau State cannot afford to treat such atrocities as business as usual, pointing out that the violence in the state is coordinated, the motives deliberate, and the sequences devastating.

Governor Mutfwang, while receiving the report at the Government House Jos, vowed to implement the recommendations of the committee in order to ensure lasting peace in the state.

Mutfwang also expressed his readiness to present the report to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and security experts to enable them to have a good perspective of the over two decades of violence in the state, and to work out an abiding solution. (Daily Trust)