PRESS RELEASE FROM BCDF:
FULANI SUSTAINING ATTACKS IN BOKKOS AND FABRICATING LIES TO JUSTIFY THEM
The Bokkos Cultural Development Forum (BCDF) Vanguard wishes to issue an urgent alert regarding a disturbing pattern of fabricated claims being spread by members of the Fulani community against the indigenous people of Bokkos. These false accusations appear to be a deliberate tactic to justify impending attacks, mirroring past strategies that have led to violence in our communities. We call upon the Special Task Force Operations Safe Haven, the Nigeria Police Force, and other state security services to intervene immediately to prevent further bloodshed.
Already, the consequences of these provocations are being felt, with initial attacks and threats against our people, including a recent incident yesterday May 25th and today, May 26th.
Since last month, we have documented no fewer than 30 instances of such defamatory claims. These fabricated lies are clearly designed to tarnish the image of our rich, fertile, and peace-loving local government. Within the same period, we have lost over 60 members in armed attacks by Fulani militants.
In a recent example, Fulani members falsely accused our people of killing one of their members on May 24th. This accusation emerged after the alleged murder of their member by unidentified criminals known for stealing motorcycles in the area. Without awaiting the conclusion of law enforcement investigations into these criminals, who have also terrorized our own communities, the Fulani preemptively pointed fingers at our people. Similarly, they recently made headlines on international news channels, falsely accusing our people of killing two of their members last week Monday and stealing their motorcycle.
Another alarming incident occurred on May 23rd, when Fulani members, accompanied by soldiers from Operation Safe Haven, encroached upon peaceful communities around the Bokkos Farm Project in Bot—specifically Makada, Ruwi, and Dakanung areas of Bokkos LGA, bordering Kumbun, Kerang, and Bwai areas of Mangu LGA. They claimed to be searching for stolen cattle, an act that caused significant fear and apprehension among residents and has been reported to the appropriate authorities. This incident followed just days after Fulani members falsely claimed their cow fell into a well and died after being “aggressively attacked” by a resident of Butura Kampani. When confronted at the police station and asked to provide proof for their demand of hundreds of thousands in damages, the Fulani swiftly withdrew the case, realizing their deception would be exposed. Tragically, a young man was ambushed and killed in the area on Sunday, May 25th, near Ruga Bagaraje, an area notorious for terror attacks, including on student residential areas around Plateau State University Bokkos.
Similarly, Fulani members especially those from the so-called Gan Allah association on May 26th claimed their homes were burned down in Mushere. But in reality, a Church mission house was attacked and a Pastor killed on the night of May 25th. Currently, his wife and one other woman are battling for their lives at the hospital.
The latest claims and violence follow direct threats made by Fulani members in Hurti, where they explicitly stated that the brutal attacks launched on April 2nd, which claimed over 50 lives, were “not over.”
The BCDC asserts that these ongoing false claims by the Fulani are familiar strategies employed to create pretexts for planned attacks. These attacks are driven by an agenda of ethnic displacement and land-grabbing, consistent with a broader historical ambition to impose a caliphate, reminiscent of the 19th-century conquests by the Fulani warlord Usman Danfodio, who was responsible for the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Hausa people in the northwest and the seizure of their territories.
We unequivocally state that we will not allow such historical atrocities to be re-enacted on our land in the 21st century. We implore security agencies to act swiftly and decisively to prevent further bloodshed, identify the criminal elements intent on disturbing peace, and avert widespread human suffering.
Enough of the mass burials in our land, enough of the bloodshed, enough of the growing number of widows and orphans created by monstrous individuals with no human feelings.
Barr. Farmasum Fuddang
BCDF Vanguard
