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According to Reverend Ezekiel Dachomo, a cleric of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN), there has been a discernible decrease in bandit attacks and killings in Plateau State during the past two weeks. He noted that this is the first real sign of relief following years of ongoing violence in rural areas.

Leadership reports that Rev. Dachomo made the comment on a Monday Channels Television program. He said that the current state of peace is unprecedented in recent months and that he is well-known for his role in fostering communication between Fulani herdsmen and Christian farming towns.

“I can say that it is 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 clarified that he had been actively involved in attempts to promote peace, pointing out that one of his most recent interactions—a particularly poignant conversation with leaders of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN)—was a component of those ongoing endeavors.

“I had to kneel down before Miyetti Allah and beg them to give us peace,” he said. “We’ve always given them the peace they need for so many years. I told them on my knees that we’ve given you peace, and you’ve been supplying crisis to us. They raised me up, and said ‘Thank you’”.

A delegation from the Senate had also traveled to Plateau State to assess the security situation, he added, noting that Fulani community members were more subdued in recent weeks. He emphasized that the fundamental problems behind the conflict were persistent and difficult to resolve in spite of these developments.

He said that the state’s displacement problem has lasted for over 20 years. He clarified that the Fulani had been welcomed to live among them by earlier, mostly illiterate generations without realizing that this hospitality might be exploited.

Recalling that both groups had previously coexisted amicably, he claimed that tensions started to become more apparent around the year 2000. Before the herders returned to the Middle Belt, the local residents helped them throughout the dry season and gave them access to irrigation farms.

But he claimed that after the herders allegedly started assaulting farmers in their farms.

He claimed that after several killings, the farming villages asked that the armed groups leave, which escalated tensions. According to him, the attackers responded by calling in reinforcements.

He stated that the herders invited in individuals from further north to wage what he called a jihad after abandoning the land that the community’s forebears had given them.

The cleric voiced worry that thousands of people in Plateau State were still unable to return to their homes after more than 161 communities were uprooted. Many individuals, he claimed, still lacked access to their native communities.

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