A cleric with the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN), Reverend Ezekiel Dachomo, has stated that banditry and killings in Plateau State have significantly reduced over the past two weeks, describing this as the first sign of hope after years of sustained violence across rural communities.
Speaking on Channels Television’s programme on Monday, Rev. Dachomo, who has been at the forefront of peace advocacy between Christian farming communities and Fulani herders, said the relative calm is unprecedented in recent months.
“I can say it’s getting better because for two weeks we have not heard that somebody was killed in any village,” he said, noting that for the first time in a long while, villagers have not reported attacks or destruction of farmlands.
“This is what we have been advocating for — to live in peace with Christians and Muslims. Even the destruction of crops, we have not heard.”
Dachomo recounted his personal efforts toward reconciliation, including a recent emotional meeting with leaders of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN).
“I had to kneel down before Miyetti Allah and beg them to give us peace,” he said. “We have always given them the peace they need for so many years. I told them on my knees that we have given you peace and you have been supplying crisis to us. They raised me up and said ‘Thank you’”.
He added that the Fulani community has shown signs of calm in recent weeks, and even representatives of the Senate visited the state to assess the security situation. However, he emphasised that the roots of the conflict run deep and cannot be easily forgotten.
According to him, the displacement crisis in Plateau has been ongoing for over two decades. “Our forefathers were illiterate; they allowed these people to live with us. They didn’t know they had a target,” he said.
“Since 2000, these people have started manifesting themselves. We were living together before; we gave them irrigation farms, and we helped them with their farms during the dry season. Then they came back to the Middle Belt after that season. They started following us to the farms and killing us,” he said.
Dachomo said tensions escalated when farming communities asked the armed groups to leave after repeated killings, resulting in the attackers inviting reinforcements.
“They left the place our forefathers gave them and invited their people from the far North to come and do jihad,” he said.
The cleric lamented that over 161 villages in Plateau State have been displaced, with thousands of residents unable to return home. “Today, people can’t go back to their villages,” he said.
