Caleb Mutfwang, governor of Plateau, bandits have taken over 64 communities in his state.
He added that the latest killings in Bokkos LGA are “sponsored and genocidal”.
The Bokkos Cultural Development Council (BCDC) reported on April 4 that suspected bandits killed over 10 people, with the death toll later rising to 52.
The attack came seven days after some gunmen attacked the Ruwi community in Bokkos LGA as mourners gathered in the home of a deceased.
Speaking on Channels TV on Tuesday, Mutfwang blamed unnamed terrorist groups for the carnage, alleging that the attacks were sponsored by yet-to-be-identified individuals.
“I can tell you in all honesty that I cannot find any explanation other than genocide sponsored by terrorists,” the governor said.
“The question is, who are the persons behind the organisers of this terrorism? This is what the security agencies must help us to unravel.
“We must come to the point where we know the sponsors because it is not just the work of ordinary people. This is being sponsored from somewhere.
“I am sure that in the coming days, the security agencies will work together, not at cross purposes but in unison, to be able to bring out the requisite intelligence that will help us to put this matter behind us.”
‘Bandits Have Taken Over 64 Communities’
The Plateau governor, who decried the incessant attacks, said bandits have taken over 64 communities across Bokkos, Barkin Ladi, and Riyom LGAs, displacing villagers in the state.
“If these attacks have been going on for close to 10 years, it tells you that there is a deliberate, conscious attempt to clean out populations and to reopen,” he added.
“As I am talking to you, there are not less than 64 communities that have been taken over by bandits on the Plateau between Bokkos, Barkin Ladi and Riyom local government areas.
“They have been taken over, renamed, and people are living there conveniently on lands they pushed people away to occupy.”
The attacks are the latest in a series of assaults on Plateau, which has, in the past, recorded similar incidents.
On the eve of Christmas in 2023, over 115 persons were confirmed dead following attacks by gunmen on communities in Bokkos and Barkin Ladi LGAs of the state.
On April 18, 2024, gunmen killed at least 12 people in Tilengpat community of Pushit district in Mangu LGA of Plateau.
Days before, gunmen killed at least 10 residents of Mandar Shar and Kopnanle villages under Mangu and Bokkos LGAs.
Several villagers were injured, with the attackers destroying a slew of properties.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
