The President of the Berom Youths Moulders Association (BYMA), Barrister Solomon Mwantiri, has alleged that a soldier shot and killed a Berom youth leader shortly after attackers suspected to be Fulani militias who had invaded the Jebbu Binde village of Ta-Hoss District in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State on Monday, July 14, where over 30 people were killed, had fled the community.
Mwantiri who made the allegations during a press conference in Jos on Thursday, demanded justice for the victims of the massacre, and also accused the Nigerian military of complicity in the attack over their lackluster response to distress calls by the attacked victims.
While addressing the press conference, Mwantiri noted that the reign of terror in Plateau and the Middle Belt carried out by the militias has produced a pattern that is now well established with the view to displacing and occupying the ancestral lands of the people.
Mwantiri stressed that the lack of prompt response by security agencies despite repeated warnings from the community, showed that the military failed to act as the force set up to protect the people and the communities.
The BYMA President went a step further to allege that a victim of the carnage reported that a soldier shot a former youth leader after the attackers had fled from the community.
“The association is demanding an independent investigation, justice for the victims, compensation for affected families, and the release of detained Berom youths,” Mwantiri concluded.
