New extremist group may be emerging in Plateau – Prof Julie Sanda warns
The Plateau State Peace Building Agency, PPBA, has warned of emerging extremist threats in the state amid recurring violence and attacks on defenceless communities, which have led to the loss of hundreds of lives and properties.
The Director-General of PPBA, Prof. Julie Sanda, who raised the alarm at a peace forum held in Jos, called on the government, security agencies, community leaders, and other stakeholders to seek context-based solutions as well as to adapt peace-building approaches to the evolving dynamics of insecurity in the state.
Prof. Sanda reasoned that leaders should shift their focus to explore pathways for strengthening community resilience and spurring coordinated actions to respond to the growing trend of violent extremism in Plateau communities.
Speaking on the theme “Preventing Violent Extremism in Plateau State: Strengthening Community Resilience and Coordinated Action,” the PPBA DG said the theme was informed by the outbreak of violence that engulfed the state from May to July, where several local communities in Mangu, Bokkos, Riyom, and Bassa Local Government Areas were attacked by suspected Fulani militias, resulting in over 500 people being killed.
Prof. Sanda noted that beyond the usual suspects, security agencies should turn their attention to intelligence gathering, as the killers could be at the stage of forming a new extremist group.
She added that during the last edition of the peace forum, participants had unanimously agreed that there was a growing trend of violence in communities that poses a clear and present danger to peace and security, hence the need for collective action with emphasis on the youth to halt further degeneration of the ugly development.
New extremist group may be emerging in Plateau – Prof Julie Sanda warns
