Plateau Youth Group Disputes Fact-Finding Report, Rejects ‘Farmer-Herder Clashes’ Narrative

A youth group in Plateau State, the Voice of Plateau Youths (VoPY), has publicly disagreed with a key finding of the Special Fact-Finding Committee established by Governor Caleb Mutfwang to investigate the persistent violence and killings in the state.

The committee’s report, presented by its Chairman, Gen. Rogers Ibe Nicholas (Rtd), at a security conference in Abuja, cited farmer-herder clashes and reprisal attacks as major factors driving the recurring violence.

However, VoPY, in a statement released in Jos on Saturday, asserted that this conclusion is inaccurate and fails to capture the true nature of the crisis.

The group, through its Interim President, Othniel Fwangle, and Interim Secretary General, Hannah Chollom, argued that a detailed study of the attack patterns employed by Fulani militias over the past two decades points to a darker agenda. VoPY concluded that the attacks are well-sponsored and exhibit a “tendency for land grabbing, jihadist expansionism and possible genocidal traits.”

They contend that the primary aim is to exterminate the native, predominantly Christian communities, chase them away from their ancestral fertile lands, and establish a caliphate.

VoPY challenged the committee’s classification, asking: “How would clashes between local farmers and herdsmen lead to the killing of thousands, including women and children, and the sacking of entire communities?”

The group noted that after the attacks, the perpetrators often take over, rename, and install new rulers in the conquered communities, which they view as evidence of “pure jihad.” While commending the committee for its effort in engaging stakeholders, VoPY urged the authorities to scrutinize the report and undertake a more critical look at the causes of the violence beyond the farmer-herder conflict label.