In the conflict-affected communities of Mangu Local Government Area in Plateau State, residents have reported a suspension of their farming activities. This pause is attributed to their fear of potential attacks by herders, preventing them from accessing their farm areas.
The residents made this known in a short documentary uploaded online by AIT News and seen by SaharaReporters
They lamented that the recent crisis has hampered food production in the communities.
A resident, Laura Yohanna said feeding has become difficult for the dwellers of these communities who are majorly farmers.
She said, “We don’t have any place to go and farm again, we cannot go to our farms. If we go to our farms, they (herders) will start chasing us with machetes, and we cannot do anything.
“We wish to also call for immediate modalities to compensate communities whose properties and farmlands were destroyed, thereby creating huge implications for food security and scarcity in the coming days. This is because the communities are one of the largest farming communities in Plateau State and Nigeria at large,”
another man, Chris Iyama said.
The Nigerian Army earlier said the major cause of the ongoing religious crisis in Mangu communities was rooted in cattle rustling.
This was stated by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, at the army’s bi-weekly media briefing with newsmen.
He stated that the Mangu crisis was caused by cattle rustling and the killing of a Wagungun man who was riding his motorbike when he suddenly collided with cattle on January 22, 2024, and an argument between the herders and the Wangagu man resulted in his death.
Six days ago, SaharaReporters reported how scores of people were killed during a clash between soldiers and gunmen in Mangu.
It was learnt that no fewer than 30 gunmen were killed while some soldiers sustained injuries during the clash a few hours after Governor Caleb Mutfwang relaxed the 24-hour curfew imposed on the area.
