A coalition of youth groups, under the auspices of Plateau Indigenous Youths Nationalities, has slammed the Fulani community in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of the state over recent allegations of intimidation, harassment, and sexual assault of women and girls by operatives of the Directorate of State Services, DSS.
The Fulani community in the Kwok community in Barkin Ladi LGA had last week accused the DSS operatives of infringing on their rights following a spate of raids conducted in the community.
A community leader, Yusuf Muhammad, who revealed this in a recorded video shared on social media platforms, said the security operatives have been raiding the Fulani community regularly, during which they would assault the people, destroy their property, arrest people indiscriminately, and sexually assault women.
Muhammad said that apart from intimidating and harassing residents of the community during such raids, the DSS operatives subject them to different kinds of violence, and in the process, they steal their valuables.
“We are making it known that DSS operatives have been intimidating and harassing our people in the Kwok community in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State on several occasions. Our people have not committed crimes that will warrant these raids where they arrest our people indiscriminately, steal our properties, and sexually assault our women, including married women,” Muhammad said.
However, the coalition made up of 11 indigenous youth associations in Plateau State, during a press conference held in Jos on Wednesday, debunked the accusations, which it said were not only self-serving, full of lies and half-truths, were aimed at diverting attention from the atrocious acts of violence, killings, and land grabbing perpetrated by Fulani militias against the rural people in the council and other parts of the state.
While addressing the press conference, the coalition Chairman, Amb. Ezekiel Peter Bini accused the Fulani community and other Fulani groups of orchestrating false allegations to distract security agencies and enable the continued acts of terrorism, banditry, and occupation of ancestral lands in the state.
The coalition, which includes youth organizations from the Afizere, Anaguta, Atakar, Atten, Berom, Irigwe, Kulere, Mushere, Mwaghavul, Pan, and Ron ethnic groups in the state, noted with dismay that the allegations, coming after several indigenous communities have endured years of killings, displacement, and economic collapse, are only meant to prepare the grounds for more attacks and violence.
“For far too long, our communities have become theatres of bloodshed; our ancestral lands violently invaded; our villages reduced to desolation; and thousands condemned to lives of fear and uncertainty,” Bini said.
He described the crisis in Plateau as a protracted humanitarian catastrophe that has persisted despite interventions by successive governments, adding that the assailants continue to mutate their tactics, requiring superior intelligence, inter-agency synergy, and sustained operations to defeat.
Also speaking at the parley, the President of the Berom Youth-Moulders Association, BYM, Barr. Solomon Dalyop Mwantiri praised the deployment of a DSS operational camp in Barkin Ladi LGA, saying it has brought renewed hope to communities living under constant attacks.
According to Mwantiri, the DSS presence has led to a noticeable decline in attacks; however, he expressed concern over the allegations, which he said are very weighty and disturbing.
“Let us be unequivocal. Allegations of misconduct must be investigated. But sensational claims must not be elevated to fact without proof. This, in our view, is a propaganda machine strategically employed to distract and whittle down the crackdown on insurgency,” the BYM President stated.
Mwantiri further said there was no evidence of sexual harassment, burning of houses, or destruction of property as alleged by Muhammad, and warned that allowing falsehood to dominate discourse encourages terrorism and undermines national security.
He rather accused Fulani terrorists of carrying out heinous attacks in several communities, including recent violence in Kum, Wereng-Camp, and Rim villages in Riyom LGA, where over 30 people were killed, including nine members of one family and a 3-month-old baby.
“Whenever sustained security pressure restricts terrorists, narratives emerge to distract public attention, weaken operational momentum, and then attacks follow. This pattern is too familiar to ignore,” Mwantiri said.
The coalition urged all security agencies not to be distracted from their constitutional responsibility of protecting citizens, called for genuine operatives to be supported, while frivolous or malicious allegations meant to obstruct security efforts should be thoroughly investigated, pledging support for the DSS and other security agencies, adding that law-abiding citizens recognize and appreciate their sacrifices.