The Plateau State University, Tuesday held a dialogue meeting with
leaders of Fulani herders in Bokkos Local Government Area to douse
tension following the discovery of a herder’s corpse in its
surrounding.
The herder believed to have been killed Monday night was discovered Tuesday morning few yards away from the University.
Tensions began to rise shortly after, with students vacating their residences for fear of reprisals.
This forced the university authorities to summon a meeting with all Ardos (Fulani community leaders) to prevent any attack on students.
The meeting ended in mutual agreement for peace, it was learnt.
The university’s student union government has however exonerated its members from the murder of the herder.
“After critical findings, it was found that, the corpse was
brought and dropped to indict the area,” Mr. Clement Gonap, President
of the Student body said in a press statement, Thursday.
The herder whose identity has yet to be released by Police
was allegedly killed hours after a man and his son, and a pregnant woman
were killed in separate attacks by suspected herdsmen in Bassa Local
Government’s Tafigana and Ancha villages of Miango Chiefdom.
The member representing Jos South/Jos East consistency in
the Nigerian House of Reps, Dachung Bagos has said that the attacks are
“totally uncalled for.”
“I wish to reiterate that this is no longer a
farmers/herders clash but a systematic annihilation and ethnic cleansing
of indigenous nations on the Plateau and indeed, the middle belt.
“It is instructive to note that most of these attacks are
geared towards intimidating the locals to abandon their farmlands and
heritage for eventual occupation by those on an ethnic expansionist’s
mission,” said Mr. Bagos in a media release on Thursday.
Police have yet to confirm the killings in Bassa and the discovery of the herder’s corpse near the State University.