Former House of Representative member representing Jos South/ Jos East Dachung Musa Bagos has revealed that the violence in the Plateau is not a crises situation but a pure genocide and an act of land grabbing.
The ex-lawmaker who made this known while speaking on AriseNews Morning Show on Friday 26 January 2024, also stated that a situation where attackers invade and kill unarmed residents without prior notice cannot be regarded as a crises but an attempt to chase residents out of their ancestral homes to claim their land for ulterior and economic purposes.
He stated in parts; “It is not a crisis. There is no crisis in the Plateau. This is pure genocide and land grabbing. Once they chase these residents out of their communities, they (Residents) don’t return. These people’s aim is to take over their land. Security agencies should follow residents of the over 60 sacked communities after the attacks to ensure that Churches and houses of residents being burnt are rebuilt.
Bagos who alleged that the attackers have always been treated with kid gloves after been caught, added that residents of the affected communities who ended up being arrested as the perpetrators of the unrest, are those who resorted to self-help to defend against the invasion and forceful grabbing of their ancestral abodes owning to the overwhelming pressure mounted on security forces.
While noting that a wrong narrative has already been sold out to the public regarding the uprising in the Plateau, Bagos emphasized that the violence in the state has always been orchestrated by those who want to wrestle the land from the real owners and advance their selfish aim.
Stressing that despite evidence showing the identity of the terrorists, authorities have continued to keep mum in bringing them to justice, the former parliamentarian attributed the situation to being a major factor fueling the violence in the plateau.
“We found some Sim cards and ID cards of these people after the attacks, reported to the security forces but nothing was done. But if it were our people they would arrest them and take them to Abuja. We need justice. Without justice, peace can hardly be achieved.” he added.
While commending the security operatives, for their reactionary efforts in taming insecurity in the state, the former lawmaker appealed for the deployment of more security agencies to close ranks with the military in the state to help address the insecurity challenges bedeviling the state.
“These people come in the middle of the night, armed, invade these communities with over a hundred motorcycles with each carrying one other behind , how many security personnel do we have in the Operation rainbow”? he questioned.
He averred that the security operatives should desists from just taking reactionary measures when lives have already been lost but be more proactive and strengthen their intelligence base in order to stall recurring attacks.
Bagos called on the government to dispense justice and ensure that residents chased out of their ancestral homes return to their land to pick up the pieces of their lives.
He stated that ever since the start of violence in the plateau dating back to 2001, all commissions of inquiry and recommendations attempts to broker peace in the state have always been political and have failed to yield any positive results.
