PRESS RELEASE BY PLATEAU LAWYERS BAR FORUM ON THE GENOCIDE IN BOKKOS LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA
The Plateau Lawyers Bar Forum (PLBF) vehemently condemns the unabated attacks by a militia on farming communities in Plateau State, particularly the recent violence in Bokkos Local Government Area. These attacks, which have persisted since 2001, have resulted in countless deaths, widespread displacement, and the destruction of livelihoods, yet the response of Federal Government in whose custody all the security agencies in Nigeria, remains grossly inadequate.
It is alarming that the failure of security agencies to protect vulnerable communities has resulted in monumental loss of lives and properties despite repeated assurances by Government that these acts of violence and destruction will end. Where there are arrests, investigations are often conducted in a shoddy and unprofessional manner, resulting in unsuccessful prosecution.
The Federal Government must seriously consider the prudent recommendation of the Director General of the State Security Service (DGSS) advocating for communities to arm themselves for self-defense. The tragic events in Bokkos Local Government Area could have been mitigated, or casualties significantly reduced had communities been equipped to fend off attackers before re-enforcement from overstretched security agencies could arrived.
While Government urgently follows through with this pragmatic suggestion by the Director General of the State Security Service (DSS), we demand immediate action to:
- Provide urgent relief and rehabilitation for displaced victims to help them rebuild their lives;
- Reinforce military and police presence in vulnerable areas;
- Legally empower and supervise community defense groups to prevent further massacres;
- Employ scientific method to investigate these massacres in collaboration with legal experts to ensure that investigations yield actionable evidence for prosecution;
- Fund and carry out prosecutions of those responsible for these attacks to end the culture of impunity;
- The Executive Order by the Plateau State Government on grazing be developed and pass into law as an Anti Opening Grazing Law in line with best practices all over the world.
The suffering endured by the people of Plateau State for over two decades must end. Enough is enough! We call on the Federal Government to take decisive action flowing from the prudent recommendation of the Director General of the State Security Service (DGSS) before more lives are lost. The time for the empty rhetoric about bringing the perpetrators to justice is over.
Dated at Jos, Plateau State this 7th day of April, 2025.
Chairman, Mr. Ledak D. Dafer, Esq.
Secretary, Mr. Niri I. Darong, Esq.
