Plateau State governor laments terrorist occupation of 64 communities, schools

Celeb Mutfwang, the Governor of Plateau State, has expressed his grief over the plight of his people who have been forced to flee their homes and lands by terrorists.

He said that 64 communities and some schools in the state have been taken over by the terrorists, who have been launching attacks for years.

In an interview with Channels TV on Tuesday, Mutfwang said that the state had a sombre Christmas, as 17 communities were attacked by the terrorists.

He said that the state was facing a huge challenge of providing shelter for the displaced and dislocated people.

He said, “When people are dislocated from their villages and they have to run for shelter, now we are struggling to provide shelter for these people that have been displaced and dislocated from their communities.

“If they stay away from those communities for a sustained period of time, the terrorists would come in. As I am talking to you today (Tuesday), in Riyom Local Government, in Barikin Ladi Local Government, schools have been occupied by these terrorists for almost a number of years now.

“We have not less than 64 communities that have been displaced and their lands have been taken over by these terrorists.”

Mutfwang also blamed the previous administration for failing to protect the people from the terrorists, saying that the people felt that the terrorists had official government support. He said that the occupation of schools was not a recent phenomenon, but had been going on for up to five years.

He said, “Under the last regime, the feeling among people in Plateau State particularly the victims of these terrorists attacks is that it looks as if the terrorists were given official government backing to be able to terrorise them because little or nothing was done to repel these attacks.”