For two weeks, Plateau State in North Central Nigeria has been a cynosure of killings, albeit an uncomely one. The grisly killing of over 100 residents by bloodthirsty marauders who unleashed mayhem on communities in the Bokkos and Bassa local government areas of the state has attracted national and global outrage. The death toll in the April 2025 attacks was the highest casualty figure in the spate of killings recorded in the state after daredevil criminals killed about 150 residents in Bokkos on Christmas Eve in 2023. A Plateau-based Christian cleric, Isa El-buba, believes the killers have declared war on the state and should be met with higher military power. He was a guest on Channels Television?s Inside Sources programme.

See excerpts:

Governor Caleb Mutfwang has described the killings in Plateau State as genocide. What does this say about the future of our country?

It?s a big concern because just like the governor said it?s genocide, and it?s not something that just happened today; it?s something that has been happening with several attacks in the past before the recent ones on the Plateau. Plateau is a cosmopolitan city. It houses virtually all Nigerians. And if anything goes wrong with Plateau, everything goes wrong with Nigeria. And so with what is going on, if there is no intervention, there is a blink future that this country will stand together and this country will be together. So we are actually in a very, very serious time in the history of this country.

For instance, of the recent attacks, we?ve seen that in the past. We?ve followed this in the past. Some of us have even attended a funeral in Dogo Nahawa where over 500 people were massacred and their communities were displaced. And then the attackers occupied the place. We had to put together all that was required to make sure we repossess some of the land.

Now, of the over 60 communities that were attacked, the attackers killed the people, displaced the people, destroyed the property of the people, and occupied those communities. So, this tells you a lot about what these people are up to. Now, backdating it on several years, how they would come into a community, invade the community, kill the people, displace the people, destroy their property, and take over the place and they start grazing. And it?s not that these people are not known; these people are known ? they are there.

Some time ago, I raised an alarm during the past administration. These people felt it was their government, they felt they were being supported and protected. And you see them move with arms. I raised an alarm. I called on the then-president to speak up. In one of the communities I visited, over 200 people were killed. Some of the dead bodies were pulled out of wells. And we had to begin to resettle the people and then mobilise local vigilantes because these criminals are not just the local herders that we used to know, but these are terrorists who target communities. When these terrorists come in, they connive with some of the locals to get information.

So, what do we have to do better?

We have to call a spade a spade. Right now, in this country, and I?m being sincere, 80% of the terrorists displacing people from their communities disguised as herders and the language they speak is Fulani; not Kanuri, not Igbo, not Yoruba. If you want to deal with something, you have to face the reality.

So now, where are these people coming from? What is their mission? If you go to Benue, you find people killed by these herders. Again in Nasarawa, you find that people are killed by these herders. When you go to Taraba, you are finding the same people, similar method. You go to Nasarawa, similar people, similar method. You go to Zamfara, similar people, similar method.

In Benue and Plateau especially, they displaced the people, destroyed their property, and then took over. So if we are going to deal with it, these people are there already. So why don?t we mobilise? Because it?s a war. When people have come to wipe away your citizens, do you not sit down to negotiate with them? You don?t negotiate with people who have come to wipe away your citizens. But rather, you wipe away these people who have come to wipe away your people.

The best way to deal with these people is that locals should be involved to deal with these people who have come to clear their land and take over their land.

If we?re going to deal with the killings, then the community must be allowed, backed up by the government. It wouldn?t take us one week to deal with these people. They are there. Just give the locals the right, liberty, and then the backing of the military to move in there, take sentiments out of it. These are people who have declared war, they have declared war on the people. Within the past month, we have lost over 100 people. Millions of families have been displaced.

These criminals are terrorists. Let?s call them as they are. How will America deal with terrorists? How will Great Britain deal with terrorists? How will Ukraine or Russia deal with terrorists? If they will not allow terrorists to occupy just a small space in their nation, why should we as a nation allow terrorists to expand their territory?

Just a few days ago, President Bola Tinubu issued a statement to say that he has advised the governor on what to do. What?s your take on that?

The first thing is that President Bola Tinubu is the commander-in-chief. I appreciate Governor Caleb Mutfwang; he is the chief security officer of the state but I tell you the truth: state governors are limited. If they are given the powers, the governors will do what they need to do; they will engage their communities but this one that you have to wait for a command, the commanders on ground will have to wait for commands from Abuja?

The president is the commander-in-chief. For instance, since this thing has happened, the president has not visited. He should come down himself. I expected that the president at this point would come down here, even for a few hours, and instruct that these communities should be taken over in 24 hours. The military, they have the capability. If we start with these 60 communities, I?m telling you, this thing will stop. Then the next thing is to empower the communities. Allow them to lead the fight because the communities own their lands.

The president should come down here and declare a state of emergency on security. The same thing they did in Rivers. If the president can do what he did in Rivers, without even a fight, without any soul being killed in Rivers, and he declared a state of emergency, he should declare a state of emergency on security. If he does, we will get this matter done in 72 hours. Terrorists don?t repent. They can surrender because they have been overpowered but if you want to deal with them, clear them and wipe them out, or else you will continue to waste your resources trying to secure your people. (Channels TV)

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