PLATEAU State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has announced a ban on night grazing and restricted the use of motorcycles across the state following incessant attacks.
In a state broadcast on Wednesday, Mutfwang described the attacks as “coordinated acts of terror” aimed at displacing residents and undermining their right to exist peacefully on their ancestral lands.
The governor also prohibited the transportation of cattle by vehicles after 7pm.
He said the directives take immediate effect, with the restriction on motorcycle use in place from 7pm to 6am across the state until further notice.
“The tragic echoes of Dogo Na Hawa, Riyom, Barkin-Ladi, Mangu, and the Christmas Eve massacres in Bokkos remain vivid. The cycle continues, but it must not endure. Enough Is Enough,” the governor said.
“As your governor, I stand resolved — Plateau shall not be overrun by fear, nor shall we accept this culture of bloodshed as the new normal.
“My administration is intensifying efforts to protect our people and enforce the rule of law across all local governments.
“I hereby announce the following measures, effective Wednesday, April 16: Night grazing of cattle is strictly prohibited; transportation of cattle by vehicle is banned after 7pm.
“The use of motorcycles is restricted from 7pm to 6am across the state until further notice.”
Muftwang said communities must be actively involved in defending themselves within the confines of the law.
At least 50 people were reportedly killed after gunmen invaded Kimakpa village, Miango district, in Bassa LGA of the state on April 14.
The attack came barely two weeks after gunmen killed many residents in five communities in Bokkos and Mangu LGAs.
Authorities have been scrambling to contain the attacks in a state where ethnic tensions have long simmered.
“There was no specific target. They were just shooting,” said Peter John, a survivor from Sunday night’s attack on the village of Kimakpa, some 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the state capital Jos.
John, 25, who spoke to AFP while receiving treatment at a nearby hospital, said he escaped the attackers, who burst into his family’s home around 10:00 pm, by climbing onto the roof.
His sister and her daughter, as well as his older brother and nine-month-old niece, all died from gunshot and machete wounds as the unidentified men rampaged from house to house.
“They shot and killed my younger sister and her daughter right in front of me,” he said.
Farmers and herders in Plateau have long clashed over access to dwindling pasture and fields in a state ravaged by climate change, illegal mining and land grabs.
The fact that most farmers are Christian and most herders from the Muslim Fulani ethnic group gives the conflict an ethnic and religious dimension.
John and other witnesses told AFP the attackers were speaking the Fulani language.
When local officials made similar remarks in reference to the earlier massacre this month, a local herder’s group denounced the killings — but also said their members were under attack from farmers.
With no reported arrests or proven motive for the assaults, authorities have not been able to explain the recent uptick in violence.