Governor Caleb Muftwang of Plateau State has said that at least 64 communities in the state have been taken over by bandits.
Speaking in an interview on Channels Television on Tuesday, Governor Muftwang alleged that the attacks were part of a deliberate attempt to displace the original inhabitants of the affected areas.
“These communities that have been recently attacked were part of the communities that were attacked in 2023, but they survived and rebuilt themselves,” he said.
He cited the Ruwi community as an example, noting that it lost about 17 people in a 2023 attack but managed to recover.
The governor also expressed concern over the long-standing security crisis in the state.
“If these attacks have been going on for close to 10 years, it tells you that there is a deliberate, conscious attempt to clean out populations,” he said.
Muftwang further claimed that the affected communities, located in Bokkos, Barkin Ladi, and Riyom local government areas, have not only been occupied by bandits but also renamed.
“As I am talking to you, there are not less than 64 communities that have been taken over by bandits on the Plateau. They have been taken over, renamed, and people are living there conveniently on lands they pushed people away to occupy,” he said.
