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By Da JS Akuns

In 3days of 2025 on 27th March, 2nd April and 14th April, some nodal settlements or hamlets suffered onslaught of gangster violence in Bokkos and Bassa LGAs of Plateau State. This led to the death of 108 natives; 11 people on 27th March at Ruwi, 43 people on 2nd April in Hurti (including Manguna, Mangor) and 54 people on 14th April at Zikke. It is arguable that the incidents were caused by unresolved long standing “underlying communal issues” that often stoke internecine gangster violence in Plateau State.

Gangster violence in Plateau State is traced to violent upheavals that led to the eviction of two faith-based institutions in 1909 and 1923. Similar incidents occurred in 1969 and 1994 involving mishandling of grievances and bureaucrats respectively.

Thereafter, the 2001 violence in Jos and Yelwa Shendam marked the onset of a vicious cycle that continues to be a plague to the residents of Plateau State to the most recent ones aforesaid.

The argument of “underlying communal issues” as the reason d’entre of gangster violence in Nigeria could be attributed to factors such as (1) bad governance (2) shunting due process (3) lawless handling of grievances (4) bias and dereliction of duty by law enforcers, defense and security forces amongst other contingent triggers.

The case of shunting due process in the way residents transact and play as well as lawless handling of ensuing grievances can be easily mapped out on the resident groups that coexist in any territory; it’s easy to identify the culprits that indulge in gangster violence as a means of conflict resolution.

The testimony of survivors of the cited incidents suggests that the violence was unleashed by their neighbours who are of a migrant settler group whose language of communication exposed their identity. Gangster violence is often deployed by the aggressing residents to terrorized their victims as a means of vengeance of perceived grievances or in order to exert claims to ownership of some proprietary rights.

Bad governance as well as bias cum dereliction of duty by law enforcers and agencies of defense and security stand out against government at the three tiers; FGN, State & LGA; a SWOT analysis of each tier of government will easily reveal the culpable link of the chain. The governmental gaps created in service delivery for security and welfare of residents tends to nudge aggressing party to resort to self-help in order to optimise their security and welfare against the vulnerable counter party.

The observed recent spate of gangster violence in Plateau State is localized and intermittent with time-gap in-between episodes to warrant the suspension of democratic structures for a declaration of martial law or imposition of an emergency rule. The case of 2004 imposition of an emergency rule in Plateau State, which seems to invoke fears of a repeat, was sustained beyond a spot incident and its potential impact on national interest was eminent, though overtly exaggerated.

A timeline of the incident in Zikke from 2-14 April reveals how gaps that crystalised from dereliction of duty of law enforcers cum defense and security forces establish bias in favour of aggressing residents in a nodal settlement. Such identifiable gaps constitute part of the insidious “underlying communal issues” that stoke gangster violence in Plateau State.

There’s no incumbent authority at the three tiers of government that lacks requisite political power in providing security and welfare to residents! Regrettably, residents are often the sacrificial lambs in an environment of bad governance and dereliction of duty, which is the fulcrum of “underlying communal issues”.

In the case of Ron ethnic people, onslaught of gangster violence started in 2016 with the fatalities of 3 Monarchs and one more in 2022 that have remained unresolved despite the announced bounty of NPF; and subsequently, the episode of Daffo in 2018, Kwatas in 2020, …, Christmas period in 2023, …, Ruwi and Hurti in 2025.

The incidents of Ruwi and Hurti resulted in loss of 54 lives of Ron ethnic people and it sandwiched that of Uromi in Edo State involving 16 lives of Fulani people; curiously, governmental response was timeously to the incident of Uromi while it took longer for that of Ruwi and Hurti. The unity of Ron ethnic group is vital! as it should be with every indigenous ethnic group in Plateau State, Middle Belt Region & Nigeria at large.

The ultimate way out of the gangster violence by aggressing migrant residents, besides balance of terror & ban on open grazing, is to restructure Nigeria based on the local identity of residents i.e. ethnic groups; the basis is enshrined in the doctrine of freedom and sovereignty (liberty) of the local identity of residents that emerged from the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia.

The same treaty ended similar carnage in Europe and restored country-specific political stability, economic prosperity and social justice. Empirical evidence suggests that European countries are delineated based on ethnic boundaries with the exception of Switzerland and UK.

Nigeria is a product of colonial administration that cobbled together the diverse territories of plural ethnic groups into a single territorial entity by war, law and praxis of settler colonisation; this has unleashed intense ethnic struggle for political power with the Fulani, as successor beneficiary of colonialism exercising the upper hand despite their lack of demographic and electoral dominance factor.

They often rely on the use of the value of the resources of Hausa ethnic group in language, marriage, population, culture, history and couture as an enabler.

In furtherance, they tend to resort to deploying gangster violence aka terrorism as a strategy to mitigate their vulnerability in their quest for political power, its glory and survival as well as remaining relevant in the power matrix of Nigeria at all times.

A balance of terror with the aggressing residents requires the immediate services of a private armed force and/or a doctrinal review of the rules of engagement of the defense cum security forces of Nigeria to confront the terrorist; local effort, no matter how well armed will not be enough to clean the Eugene’s stable except to keep the peace thereafter.

To accomplish the aforesaid task requires courage and robust political will to confront the observed “underlying communal issues” and not lackadaisical pleas and condolence press releases. It’s well!

*Da JS Akuns is Galadima Daffo

StreetReporters.ng

This post has already been read at least 11161 times!