Long before the current widespread insecurity across Nigeria, Plateau State had been a theatre of killings-no thanks to conflicts between the natives and nomadic herdsmen.
The bloodbath, which has continued till date on an alarming scale, has left thousands killed and displaced since 2001. Apart from killings, which seem to have become the new normal, the natives are claiming that 102 communities have been annexed by herders.
They are angry and want to return to their ancestral lands said to have been occupied and renamed by the herdsmen. Son of the first Gbong Gwom of Jos and spokesperson for Southern Middle Belt Alliance, SAMBA, Prince Rwang Pam Jr., in this interview, tells the story of the 102 ‘’occupied’’ communities.
He wants the state governor, Simon Lalong, to commence the implementation of Plateau State Anti-land Grabbing Law, adding that,“once the governor makes it operational, lands would be returned to their owners while the herdsmen return to where they came from.’’
More to come shortly..
