The Plateau State Youth Council (PYC), Riyom Branch, has issued a stark warning over what it described as a sustained, decades-long campaign of unprovoked attacks by armed Fulani militias, declaring that the patience of the people has reached its limits.
At a press conference on Tuesday in Jos, Comrade Zang Kefas Davou, Chairman of the PYC in Riyom, said the recent spate of violence in the area had claimed 58 lives, injured 31 others, displaced over 15,000 people and destroyed at least 82 houses and large swathes of farmlands.
He disclosed that the people of Riyom had shown remarkable restraint in the face of persistent violence but cautioned that such forbearance must not be misread.
“Our people have consistently demonstrated remarkable restraint, refusing to resort to reprisals or retaliations,” he stated. “However, it should be noted that our patience, rooted in our belief in justice and the rule of law, has been stretched to its absolute limits.”
He warned that the youth’s continued endurance should not be mistaken for weakness, apathy or an invitation to further aggression.
“We repeat and we will still repeat again that our endurance has a limit,” he said.
Comrade Davou described the violence as a “relentless and systematic campaign” dating back to 2002, resulting in the murder of thousands of indigenous residents, destruction of billions of Naira worth of property, and widespread land grabbing.
He said the latest phase of the attacks had reached “an unprecedented level of coordination and sophistication”, citing reports that some of the attackers were answering calls on the phones of their victims.
He also demanded urgent and sustained security deployment to vulnerable areas, immediate protection of farmlands, the return and resettlement of displaced persons, and full prosecution of the perpetrators.
“Our endurance has a limit, Riyom youth warn after decades of attacks justice, true peace is unattainable,” he said.
The youth leader urged governments at all levels to intensify their response and called on the international community to break its silence.
“The silence of the world on the systematic annihilation of communities in Riyom Local Government is seriously deafening,” he said.
Comrade Davou reiterated that the people of Riyom would not give up their ancestral land “no matter the high sophistication of the terror that might be unleashed.”
He concluded with an appeal for justice, peace, and global solidarity with affected communities.
