Death Toll Rises To 35 From Mangu Attacks

Yakubu Busari

The Death toll in Mangu clashes between the Natives and the Muslim community rise to 35 people.

Daluk the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) chairman of the Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State has accused the military of supervising the displacement of Christians and the destruction of their properties.

The perennial violent attacks and wanton killings of Christians in Plateau state are being facilitated by the Nigerian military, Rev Timothy Daluk has alleged.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the Mwaghavul Development Association MDA is saddened by the current breakdown of law and order in Mangu town which began on Monday 22nd and continued on Wednesday 24th January 2024 without any resistance from the Security.

Mr Lawrence Kyarshik, Director of Public Affairs, MDA, disclosed this in a press release issued in Jos.

This unfortunate event is currently going on under the watchful eyes of the military who have failed to give protection to law-abiding residents of Mangu.

The Executive Governor of Plateau State Barr Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang yesterday in a swift reaction to curt tell the situation imposed a 24-hour curfew in Mangu Local Government only for the Fulani Jihadists to unleash mayhem on Kwahaslalek leaving over 30 people dead, houses completely raised down, and properties including food items destroyed with fire.

One then wonders how these criminals operated without any resistance from the Security personnel already deployed in the Local Government. Sadly enough, the security alert received on Monday 22nd had shown that there were pending attacks in Mangu and other places, yet these carnages went on unhindered.

As if that is not enough, even within Mangu, the Muslims took advantage of the curfew to burn down houses, killing unsuspected persons and destroying properties and churches.

The MDA frowns at the activities of some of the military personnel who appear to be complacent in carrying the constitutional duties they swore to protect all citizens of the country irrespective of tribe and religion.

Eye witness report has it that while the military sends our people away, they watch the Muslims burn down houses seamlessly.

We are losing confidence in the military with each passing moment because their actions are clear that they have taken sides. Consequently, we wish to demand for complete withdrawal of the military to be replaced with MOPOLS and NSCDC as their roles in this conflict are highly suspicious.

At the moment our people are left at the mercy of God and the little they can do in self-defense.

We want to use this opportunity to respond to a write-up on social media by one Safwan Umaru Yahya accusing the Christians in Mangu of collaborating with the Plateau State Government, particularly Operation Rainbow to attack Muslim Ummah at Mangu. In his social media space, he claimed that the Police and Operation Rainbow were killing them, yet there was no sound of a gunshot at the background of the video.

This statement by Safwan Umaru Yahya is not only misleading but a complete fabrication of lies, distractive, and meant to falsely attract sympathy to his people.

The Mwaghavul Nation and Christians in Mangu have coexisted peacefully with Muslims in Mangu for decades. Most of them are even our brothers who have also married our daughters.

They have allowed bad elements to settle amongst them and used them against their brothers and sisters. Remember, if you are a Mwaghavul Muslim and love Mangu LGA, you will not conspire with evil people against us.

We wish to also draw the attention of the public and the security agencies to another write-up on social media by one Bala Umaru Kafel on ” Dr Nentawe Die heart Support Group” in Hausa ” PDP n Plateau, to sai kuje Mangu ku kwashe  gawakin ku dafa  ku ci hahahahassh”.

We believe that the situation in Mangu should hurt all of us. The destruction of human lives and properties doesn’t know whether you are are PDP, APC or any other political party hence should be rejected. This statement is unfortunate, unpatriotic, and evil.

We wish to call on our people to remain prayerful and defend yourselves and our land against all plans to intimidate us and God will give us victory.

We also are calling on security especially the military to put professionalism above personal interest in dealing with the situation in Mangu.

 Otherwise, our people when pushed to the wall, their response may escalate the already bad situation. May God protect our land, fight the enemies of Mangu LGA, and restore peace to us.