The Plateau Youth Council, PYC, has categorically rejected claims by a Fulani group, the Coalition of Fulani Registered Organisations, COFRO, of victimisation and ethnic profiling by the authorities and security agencies.
In a statement on Thursday, the Fulani group alleged that herders were unjustly labelled as aggressors whenever violence occurred in Plateau State, insisting that they were, in fact, the victims in most of the clashes.
The chairman of the coalition in Bokkos Local Government Area, Sale Yusuf Adamu, said the group rejected the notion that they were aggressors in the recurring violence in the state, maintaining that they were rather the victims.
However, responding to the Fulani group’s claims, the Bokkos chapter of the PYC described the allegations as baseless, false, and misleading.
In a rebuttal issued on Saturday and signed by the Public Relations Officer of the Bokkos PYC, Makings Bwefang Sunday, on behalf of its President, Mawash Dakol James, the council dismissed the claims, saying they did not reflect the true situation on the ground.
The statement further described the Fulani coalition as an amorphous group, unknown to the authorities, and accused it of seeking to create confusion in the local government area.
“We wish to state categorically that no such group or youth body exists in Bokkos Local Government Area or Plateau State. The said organisation is fictitious, unregistered, and unknown to the authorities or to the communities it claims to represent. Its claims are therefore baseless and lack legitimacy,” part of the statement said.
The council added that allegations of killings, cattle rustling, and mass displacements suffered by the Fulani community were deliberate attempts to distort facts, stressing that Fulani militias were actually the aggressors who repeatedly attacked communities, killing residents and seizing their lands.
“It is therefore deceitful for Fulani groups to claim ancestral ownership of areas where they were only temporary settlers.
“The press conference of 27th August was laced with propaganda, aimed at justifying ongoing insecurity in Bokkos. Such narratives are dangerous, divisive, and undermine collective efforts toward peace and reconciliation,” said PYC.
The statement concluded with the council’s position on sustainable peace in the state, reaffirming its commitment to peace, justice, and coexistence.
It stressed that peace must be founded on truth and fairness, not on falsehoods or fabricated ancestral claims, warning that distorting history only fuels further conflict.
Plateau Youth Council rejects victimisation claims by Fulani group
