Solomon Dalung Responds as Fulani group gives Gov Mutfwang 3 conditions for peace to return to Plateau

Following the killing of over 100 innocent residents in Bokkos and Bassa local government areas of Plateau State within a week, Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang convened an emergency stakeholders’ meeting aimed at charting a path toward restoring peace in the state.

According to The Sun, the meeting, which took place in Jos, the state capital, was attended by a wide range of prominent Plateau citizens. These included former governors, serving and former senators, current and former members of the House of Representatives, past ministers, traditional rulers, and religious leaders from both the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), along with other key stakeholders.

It was recalled that a Fulani group operating under the banner of the Coalition of Fulani Registered Organizations (COFRO), Plateau State Chapter, had earlier outlined certain conditions for peace in the state in the wake of escalating nighttime attacks on local communities. Among the conditions presented by COFRO were the immediate and unconditional release of all detained Fulani individuals, clarification on the whereabouts of missing members allegedly affected by security operations, and assurances that local communities would no longer harm their cattle.

The chairman of COFRO, Garba Abdullahi Muhammad, reportedly stated at a press briefing in Kaduna that the absence of justice for Fulani herdsmen and their families from both government and security agencies had contributed to the worsening crisis in the state.

In reaction, the National President of the Youth Wing of the Conference of Autochthonous Ethnic Communities Development Association (CONECDA), Comrade Paul Joshua Dekete, described the group’s peace conditions as a tacit admission of involvement in the ongoing violence. He called on security agencies to arrest the group’s leaders for further investigation into their activities and intentions in Plateau State.

Also responding, former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Hon. Solomon Dalung, reportedly dismissed the group as faceless and questioned the credibility of their claims. He wondered why the group chose to hold its press briefing in Kaduna rather than in Plateau State, where they purportedly originated.

He said, “Kaduna Declaration or Kaduna Distraction? We are equally disturbed by a recent gathering in Kaduna where a group claiming to represent Fulani interests declared a condition for peace in Plateau State. We ask, if they’re truly from Plateau, why did they not hold this gathering in Jos, Plateau ? Why are people who claim to be victims demanding pre-conditions before peace ? This is not negotiation, it is extortion veiled in ethnic entitlement.”