By Marie-Therese Nanlong

Jos – The Irigwe people of the Bassa local government area of Plateau State have raised concerns about the sustained attacks in the communities, saying they are on the verge of extinction due to the level of killings since 2001.

The President of the Irigwe Development Association, IDA, Rev. Daniel Gya, the General Secretary, Danjuma Auta, and the Public Relations Officer, Samuel Jugo, in a statement jointly signed and issued in Jos, lamented that despite State and nonstate actors’ efforts, killings have continued persistently in the communities.

They noted that independent research conducted by Gastor Barrie, from 2001 to March 2025 shows that a total of 2,866 attacks have occurred resulting in 1,107 deaths, 412 injuries, 20,836 rooms destroyed, 742 barns and 27,330 farms also destroyed while most of the victims are still languishing in abject poverty, unable to fend for their families.

The trio stated, “While we appreciate governments’ efforts, both at Federal and State levels, to restore peace in the country, we regret to bring to the notice of the public that killings have continued persistently in our communities. The Rigwe nation, predominantly found in Kwall and Miango towns in the Bassa and Jos North Local Government Areas of Plateau State and the Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, North, has continued to be in the news for the wrong reasons.

“In the wake of 2001, we witnessed the gruesome murder of a prominent elder, Nggwe Vichi Goji, and three other family members by suspected Fulani herders that were resident in the area. Following this unfortunate incident, the resident Fulanis started to migrate elsewhere for reasons best known to them. The Irigwe Chiefdom has since then not known absolute peace in its truest sense to date.

“Several interventions have been made to restore peace in the land, but the closer we get to it, the more it eludes us. Evidence gathered from eyewitnesses collected on the various scenes shows that herders are largely responsible for these crimes. In the beginning, these attacks were in the form of ambushes, destructions of farm crops, and rape of women and girls on their way to farms, or in search of firewood in the wild.

“It metamorphosed into attacks with firearms. Beginning from January 2025, all the killings to date were largely by ambushes on unsuspecting passersby. There have been unconfirmed speculations and reports of alien herders, but most residents would doubt if they could have a mastery of the land without the collaboration of Fulanis that resided in the area as their guide in meandering the local turf.”

They added that unprovoked assaults of innocent farmers tending their farms to malicious destruction of unharvested farmlands have persisted without restraint despite the relentless efforts of security agents.

To mitigate the situation, “The Rigwe Traditional Council initiated the set-up of a 16-man committee on the 28th of January 2021 to explore causes of conflict between herders and farmers in Rigweland and possible solutions to them. The committee developed a 17-point guideline which it believes, if strictly adhered to, would ameliorate the precarious relations between the Rigwes (the aboriginal owners of the Chiefdom) and their Fulanis neighbours.

“The Peace Pact was eventually brokered and signed on 13th July 2022 and witnessed by the paramount ruler of Rigweland, the Brra Nggwe Rigwe, Rev. Ronku Aka, the Ardo of Bassa, the Commander, Operation Safe Haven, Plateau Initiative for the Development and Advancement of the Natives (PIDAN), Chairman, MACBAN, President, Irigwe Development Association (IDA), Interfaith Mediation Centre (IMC), Kaduna State Peace Commission, Dialogue, Reconciliation and Peace Centre (DREP) and the representative of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP).”

However, “This milestone achievement led to the formation of the 17-Man Peace Implementation Committee for Irigwe Chiefdom in May 2024 by the erstwhile GOC 3 Division/ Commander, Operation Safe Haven, Maj. Gen. AE Abubakar and saddled with the responsibility of implementing the 17-point agreement hitherto signed. Despite these efforts by concerned stakeholders, sporadic and intermittent skirmishes have continued to be recorded.

“The Irigwe Development Association recently made a passionate appeal to the Commissioner of Police, Mr Emmanuel Adesina, to establish a Nigeria Police Force Division in Miango to help stem the tide of insecurity in the land. The traditional council of Rigweland and the Irigwe Development Association (IDA) use this medium to appeal to relevant authorities to come to its aid to prevent the Rigwe nation from extinction and its source of livelihood totally obliterated by its enemies.”