The Mwaghavul Development Association (MDA) has called for sustained and decisive military action to dismantle bandits’ hideouts and end the attacks on vulnerable communities in Plateau State, as the death toll from the Sunday night attack on Bin Per community of Mangu Local Council Area rises to 28.

However, the Mwaghavul Youth Movement (MYM) has demanded the immediate withdrawal of soldiers from the area following last Tuesday’s violence in the Bin-Per community, in which no fewer than 26 people were killed and several houses and farmlands destroyed.

Their demands came as the Operation Enduring Peace (OPEP) announced its relocation to Mangu and the setting up of its Operation Hard Knock in the area following the attacks.

In another development, no fewer than 14 cattle were killed, and 29 others were rustled as gunmen attacked herders around the Gero community in Jos South Local Council Area of Plateau State over the weekend.

The latest attack, which reportedly occurred when the herders were tending their cattle, came amid the rising tension between herders and farmers in various parts of Jos, Bassa, Barikin Ladi and Mangu council areas.

The Commander of OPEP, Maj.-Gen. Maxwell Dangana, said that Operation Hard Knock would flush out the criminal elements in Mangu and environs, adding that the tactical command of the military task force on security in the state was moved to the area in response to the attacks.

Nevertheless, the MDA’s Director of Public Affairs, Friday Derwam, disclosed in a statement yesterday that 24 people were found killed and others missing or injured soon after the incident.

Calling on the federal, state and council authorities to prioritise the safety of lives and property, especially of the vulnerable communities, the MDA, however, commended the 3 Division, Nigerian Army, and other security agencies for their proactive and swift interventions and operational response in the affected areas.

The MDA also commended the Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, for his response to the attacks, visit to the Bin Mper community, and his pledge of relief assistance to the residents.

However, in a statement over the weekend by the MYM Director of Public Affairs, Tubwot Sunday, the youth group expressed a total lack of confidence in the newly deployed military personnel to combat the attacks, calling for their immediate withdrawal.

According to the group, the soldiers being deployed to the area only station in the heart rather than move into the border areas from where the attackers enter villages to carry out the killings.

The group further accused the soldiers of not going after the attackers but only reacting to attacks, without deliberate efforts to fish out perpetrators before they attack.

In the meantime, the State Chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Ibrahim Babayo, told newsmen on Sunday that the destruction of livestock is both an economic attack and an assault on the livelihoods of families who depend entirely on cattle rearing for survival.

Stating that the killing of cattle and the attacks on innocent herders must not be allowed to become the new normal, Babayo urged members to remain calm and law-abiding, as security agencies have promised to investigate those responsible for the crime and bring them to justice. (Guardian)