A coalition known as the Displaced People of Bokkos—made up of residents forced out of their ancestral communities in Bokkos Local Government Area by suspected Fulani bandits and armed groups—has appealed to Caleb Mutfwang to fulfill his pledge to facilitate their safe return home.
In an open letter addressed to the governor on Monday, the Displaced people of Bokkos group expressed deep concern over their continued displacement, stating that the occupation of their lands by the attackers has left many of them struggling to survive in Internally Displaced Persons camps, where they depend on aid and public support for basic needs.
The Displaced people of Bokkos further lamented that the prolonged hardship has severely affected their families, with many children forced into street begging, while some women and young girls have reportedly turned to desperate means to sustain themselves.
The open letter, which was signed by the Coordinators of the displaced people of Bokkos, Mangut Alfred, Micah Malo and David Arandong respectively and made available, said it was disheartening that despite several promises by the state government that they would soon go back to their lands, nothing was being done on the part of the government as they have been abandoned to their fate.
The Displaced people of Bokkos group also decried the fact that while their fertile lands lie wasted as the occupiers are not farmers, they have been exposed to severe hardship, hunger and deprivation.
“We, the Displaced People of Bokkos, make this solemn appeal to our Governor, His Excellency, Barr. Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang to kindly fulfill his promises of facilitating our return to our ancestral homes following our displacement by Fulani bandits and terrorists.
“Some of our people have been chased out of our lands for more than five years and life has not been easy for us. We have been forced to live in IDP camps in very deplorable conditions.
“Some of us are living with relatives who themselves barely have enough to feed. We have become beggars in our own state; our children have become beggars, our wives and daughters have resorted to prostitution to make ends meet while some of our able-bodied young men have become criminals.
“Sir, over the years, you have promised that your government is doing everything possible to facilitate our return to our ancestral lands. However, these promises have all turned out to be false hopes as nothing has been done to achieve this.
“Your Excellency, we are appealing to you to kindly fulfill those promises so that we can go back home and farm especially as the rainy season approaches. Those Fulani bandits who are currently occupying our fertile lands are not farmers as they only concentrate on their grazing and cattle rearing. What that means is that our lands are begging to be cultivated.
“Your Excellency, we make this appeal with tears in our eyes and the pains of watching our children and families suffer. We are not lazy people. We have always been industrious and hardworking farmers and we want to go back home and pick up our lives,” the letter read.
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