Plateau Youth Council (PYC), Northern Zone, has raised an alarm over a series of deadly attacks on farming communities in Bassa and Riyom Local Government Areas, describing them as calculated acts of ethnic cleansing timed to sabotage the 2025 wet farming season.
Speaking at a press conference held at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre in Jos, PYC Northern Zone Coordinator, Comrade Samson Y. Chiroma, accused armed Fulani militias of orchestrating the violence, which claimed at least 53 lives within days.
Chiroma challenged the federal government’s narrative that the violence amounts to communal clashes, branding the attacks as “a deliberate and sustained campaign to wipe out indigenous Plateau communities”.
“What we are witnessing is not communal conflict; it is genocide. “To call it anything less is to dishonor the memory of the victims and insult the intelligence of our people,” Chiroma said.
He revealed that the assault on Bassa lasted for over 90 minutes, between midnight and 1:30am, resulting in the deaths of more than 51 villagers and that in Riyom, two more lives were lost in a separate but eerily similar incident shortly afterward.
The timing, Chiroma noted, is particularly coinciding with the begining of the farming season.
“These attacks consistently happen just as our people prepare their land. It’s a clear attempt to displace indigenous farmers and plunge our communities into economic paralysis,” he said.
Chiroma also voiced strong support for Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang’s recent address to the state, asserting that the governor’s message captured the pain and frustration of Plateau’s youth.
“We will explore every legal avenue to seek justice. The silence of the federal government is not only deafening—it is dangerous.”
In a pointed remark, Chiroma questioned recent inflammatory statements by certain political figures, hinting at a possible link between inciting rhetoric and the violence.
“When people make threats and attacks follow, the authorities must investigate, otherwise, it sends a dangerous message—that some people are untouchable,” he opined.
The Council urged the Plateau State Government to urgently expand and equip the state-backed security outfit, Operation Rainbow, to supplement federal security agencies.
He emphasised that the patience of the youth was nearing a breaking point.
“Our commitment to peace should not be mistaken for fear. If another attack occurs, do not blame the youth for the consequences.”
Despite the trauma, Chiroma praised the resilience and restraint shown by affected communities, warning, however, that “a breaking point is near.”
The PYC’s statement comes amid rising tensions in the Middle Belt region where long-standing land disputes, ethno-religious differences, and weak enforcement of security measures continue to fuel violence.
