Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has disclosed that over 420 communities were attacked, nearly 12,000 lives lost, and countless livelihoods destroyed by bandits in the state between 2001 and May 2025.
The governor disclosed this at the North Central Zonal Public Hearing of the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on National Security Summit held in Jos, the Plateau State capital.
Mutfwang, whose deputy, Ngo Josephine Piyo, represented, said evidence revealed that most of these deadly attacks were neither random nor isolated, but appear deliberate, coordinated, and sustained by multiple actors pursuing economic, territorial, religious, and political interests.
According to the governor, the routes of infiltration, patterns of destruction, and strategies of occupation all suggest a broader agenda of destabilisation, one that requires decisive and multidimensional responses.
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He also noted that, additionally, a common feature of the plight of rural communities is displacement and land grabbing, leading to the loss of livelihoods, land, and cultural heritage.
"Criminal groups continue to exploit mining sites, using proceeds to finance their operations with arms and drugs. While the Plateau State Government has attempted to curb this through mining bans and regulatory enforcement, challenges persist due to deep-rooted links between illegal mining and organised criminal networks.
The governor further maintained that it is time to stop pointing fingers and comparing who lost more lives across religious or ethnic divides, adding that it is time to unite, join hands and confront this demon.
He called on all stakeholders to make honest and valuable contributions that will return Plateau State and Nigeria to the path of unity and prosperity.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Senate's public hearing on National security, Senator Abba Moro, in his remarks, said the engagement serves as an instrument for broad consultation, designed to gather diverse views and perspectives on the complex security challenges confronting our nation.
According to him, when one traverses both rural and urban landscapes across Nigeria, the evidence of insecurity is pervasive and deeply troubling, adding that insurgency persisted in the North-East, militancy in the Niger Delta, banditry, farmer-herder clashes, communal conflicts, kidnapping, terrorism, and destruction of farmlands across the Northwest, North Central, and other regions.
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He noted that the summit is an affirmation of the seriousness with which the National Assembly approaches its constitutional mandate to safeguard lives, property, peace, and prosperity through lawmaking and other legislative interventions.
According to Moro, the resolutions from the summit would be valuable to support a more comprehensive and enduring national security policy.
"Let me also emphasise that national security is a shared responsibility. It does not rest solely on the military or security agencies. Communities must remain vigilant. State governments must continue to support localised security initiatives," Moro stated.
