The Plateau Youth Council (PYC), Riyom Local Government Area chapter, has sounded a distress call over the resurgence of deadly violence in the area, revealing that more than 58 lives have been lost in just the past month.
The youth group is now demanding swift and decisive action from the federal government to halt the relentless attacks that have devastated their communities.
Addressing a press conference at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre in Jos, the PYC Chairman for Riyom LGA, Comrade Zang Davou, painted a grim picture of the security situation.
He recounted decades of violence that have plagued the region and called for a renewed national response to what he described as a “systematic and sustained campaign of terror.”
“Since 2002, Riyom Local Government Area has endured a coordinated and unrelenting wave of violence, largely orchestrated by individuals suspected to be armed Fulani militias,” Davou stated. “These attacks are typically unprovoked, leading to the cold-blooded murder of thousands of innocent citizens.”
He lamented that entire communities which once thrived economically and socially have been left in ruins, with billions of Naira worth of property destroyed and farmlands — the lifeblood of the local economy — deliberately rendered useless.
“Our people’s ancestral lands have been brazenly grabbed, and despite the presence of legal frameworks that could reverse such illegal occupation, there has been no meaningful action,” he added.
“Indigenous communities have been stripped of their heritage, their livelihoods, and forced into displacement and destitution.”
Davou revealed further that over 15,000 residents have been displaced in recent weeks and are now living in precarious conditions, devoid of food, shelter, and basic dignity.
He noted that 31 individuals are currently hospitalized with severe injuries, battling for survival under the strain of limited medical resources.
“The economic and social fabric of Riyom has been torn apart,” he said. “Over 82 homes have been deliberately set ablaze. Cultivated farmlands — our only means of sustenance — have been destroyed, leaving us in a state of despair and helplessness.”
Disturbingly, the group claimed that some attackers were still in possession of the mobile phones of their victims and had been answering calls placed to those numbers. This, the group said, underscores the audacity of the assailants and the terrifying extent of impunity in the region.
While the PYC commended the efforts of security agencies and all tiers of government — local, state, and federal — in trying to contain the crisis, Davou was clear that these measures remain grossly inadequate. According to him, the scale and complexity of the problem in Riyom LGA require a much more aggressive, sustained, and strategic security response.
“We acknowledge the interventions made so far, but the reality is that Riyom is bleeding, and the current approach is simply not enough,” he declared.
“The primary responsibility of any government, as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is the protection of lives and property. In Riyom, that responsibility is failing.”
In light of this, the youth group called for the massive, permanent, and proactive deployment of security personnel, particularly the Nigerian Mobile Police Force (MOPOL), to all high-risk and vulnerable communities within the local government. This, they believe, is the only way to restore a sense of security and allow displaced persons to return home with confidence.
The PYC’s call for action is not just a plea for protection — it is a desperate appeal for justice, for restoration, and for the recognition of a people’s right to live without fear in their ancestral homeland.