Former Military Governor of the old Plateau State, Rear Admiral Samuel Bitrus Atukum (rtd), has declared that he would end the incessant killings in Plateau State if he were the governor, while calling on the Federal Government to designate killer herdsmen as terrorists.
Speaking to Journalists in Jos, against the backdrop of the recent massacre in his Bokkos community, Atukum said the perpetrators of the violence are known, and their hideouts have also been identified.
“If I were the governor, I would go into the hills and smoke them out,” Atukum said.
He criticized both the State and Federal governments for lacking the political will to end the persistent killings in parts of the state, especially in Bokkos, Barkin Ladi, Mangu, Riyom, and Jos South.
According to him, it is not difficult to identify the killers and the sophisticated weapons they use, as they operate from hilltops from where they launch their attacks. He added that a simple ballistic examination could trace the origin of the weapons.
Atukum recalled his days as military administrator, noting how the then military government effectively handled the Maitatsine religious crisis.
He also referenced a recent press conference held by a coalition of Fulani groups in Kaduna, during which they issued conditions for peace in Plateau.
The conditions included the immediate and unconditional release of all arrested Fulani persons, disclosure of the whereabouts of missing members allegedly detained by security agencies, and a guarantee that natives would no longer harm their cattle.
Atukum said the demands made during the press briefing revealed those who should be held accountable for the continued bloodshed in the state.
“Government now has relevant information as to where investigations should begin. We cannot allow people, under the pretext of freedom of speech, to make such inflammatory statements just days after unprovoked killings.
“These criminals, who are well known to locals, come from the hills. I am urging our security operatives to go up there and smoke them out from their hideouts,” he said.
He expressed dismay that some of the hills and mountains around affected communities are inhabited by these armed criminals.
“What is the difficulty in ordering security operatives to flush them out? These people descend from the hills, wreak havoc, and disappear into thin air. That is also likely where they hide their weapons,” he added.
Atukum dismissed the longstanding narrative of farmer-herder clashes, saying, “How can there be a clash in someone’s bedroom? These attackers go into people’s homes in their ancestral villages. The people identified by the coalition’s spokesman are the real culprits, and regardless of where they come from, how can they have such control over the landowners?”
He insisted that the crisis is ultimately about land grabbing and the forceful displacement of indigenous people.
“This whole crisis is about taking over ancestral lands. If you examine the pattern of attacks, which often occur during farming and harvest seasons, it’s clear that there’s an agenda to create hunger and desperation.
“When Farmers are killed for protesting destruction of their crops, it becomes evident these killers are enjoying protection from somewhere,” he noted.
He reiterated that the so-called killer herdsmen are terrorists and should be officially designated as such.
Atukum also threw his weight behind the creation of State police, arguing that police personnel should be recruited from local communities for more effective security enforcement.
