The Berom Youths Moulder Association (BYM) condemned a Saturday attack by suspected Fulani militants in Kwi Community, Riyom Local Government Area, Plateau State, which killed seven people and injured several others. The invasion, which occurred at 10:30 pm, followed the shooting of one Kurang Daniel on his farm earlier that day. BYM President Dalyop Mwantiri and Secretary-General Bature Adazaram signed a Sunday statement alleging that the attackers often use false claims of attacks on herdsmen to justify violence against Berom communities. The BYM asserted the Kwi attack was unprovoked, despite a Fulani group claiming Berom youths had killed five herders and over 50 cows earlier. The BYM noted their information indicates Fulani groups “falsely framed up” these claims to security operatives, and a thorough search found no factual evidence of cows or herders being attacked. The BYM statement called this claim a “strategy and ruses” used before attacking a village. The association further alleged that Fulani groups hire a security expert to use X to spread propaganda, portraying themselves as victims while actually being the aggressors. The BYM expressed worry over a pattern where deadly attacks follow security meetings between Fulani and Berom groups, citing a recent ambush on community leaders returning from a Sector 4 Headquarters meeting that resulted in four deaths, two injuries, and two missing persons. The association urgently appealed to security forces, particularly Sector 4 of the Joint Task Force Operation Enduring Peace (OPEP), to use their “arsenals and professionalism” to arrest the Fulani who made the “baseless and misleading claims” for investigation and prosecution. The BYM warned that the threat to the Berom people will continue unless stronger action is taken against Fass and other areas where militants allegedly maintain safe havens.
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