Governor of Plateau State, Caleb Mutfwang, has declared that the state has not been immune from attack since the inception of this political dispensation in 1999, claiming that bandits and terrorists have taken over almost all the state’s forests, game reserves and grazing areas.
Mutfwang, who disclosed this at a stakeholders’ meeting with eminent citizens of the state over the recent spate of killings on the Plateau on Monday, said the intelligence reports depicted that Wase Grazing Reserve in Wase Local Government, Pandam Games Reserve in Qua’ Pan Local Government Area, among others, have become dens of bandits, terrorists, kidnappers and abodes for criminal elements
“Today, there is no senatorial zone in this state that is without its share of conflict. In Wase, for instance, a grazing reserve was developed as far back as the days of Northern Nigeria. Maybe Honourable Wase will help us trace when that reserve was last put to use, but certainly, for the last 10 years or more, that area has been inaccessible.
“Kanam has also come under siege. The intelligence we are getting from Pandam Games Reserve is disturbing. It has become a haven for kidnappers and a sort of stock exchange for ransom transactions. Many of the kidnappings that took place in Shendam have also been linked to the games reserve,” the governor said.
He stated that apart from the Langtang North and Langtang South councils in the Southern zone that have been somewhat spared, other local government areas in the state are bombarded by the unfortunate development, adding that it has been a recurring decimal for more than two decades.
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