Herdsmen sack 45 Plateau villages -Rep

A House of Representatives member from Plateau State, Rep. Istifanus Gyang on Thursday, alleged that 45 villages in Barkin Ladi-Ryom Federal Constituency have been sacked and converted into a cattle colony by Fulani Herdsmen.

Rep. Gyang, who made the disclosure during plenary of the House, pleaded with the National Assembly and the federal government to save the remaining villages in his constituency from being overrun by attackers.

He said that right now more killings were being carried out by the herdsmen without any intervention by security agencies.

According to him, only recently two paramount rulers narrowly escaped being lynched while a palace was completely burnt down and the other ransacked by the rampaging herdsmen.

The lawmaker pleaded with the National Assembly and the federal government to immediately save his people from being wiped out from the face of the earth.

He maintained that his people are a small ethnic group in Nigeria, adding that if nothing is urgently done to save them, it would lead to the final extinction of the group due to incessant daily attacks on the area.

In a related development, the House urged the Buhari administration to set up a commission similar to that of the North East to intervene and rehabilitate individuals, communities and public infrastructure affected by the crisis in Plateau state.

The House resolution follows adoption of the motion sponsored by Rep. Johnbull Shekarau drawing attention to the series of ethno-religious crises in the state that have resulted in the loss of hundreds of lives and the destruction of critical infrastructure worth billions of naira.

The House member stated that with the return of peace to the state, normal live is yet to return as inhabitants are still reeling from the pains and frustrations because of failure of government to rebuild and rehabilitate victims and affected communities.

“Efforts to include Plateau and Kano states in the North East Development Commission and the presidential initiative on the North East were unsuccessful due to geographical location despite similar experiences.

” The absence of a coordinated intervention and rehabilitation effort in a post crisis era has seriously affected the pace of recovery and reintegration of individuals and the rebuilding of damaged infrastructure in communities, thereby deepening the suffering and heightening frustration among inhabitants, ” he added.

In its resolution, the House mandated its committee on special duties to ensure the rehabilitation of victims of the Plateau crisis.