Former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration for what he described as its complacency in tackling the persistent insecurity in Plateau State.

Dalung expressed his concerns during the Arise TV Morning Show interview on Monday.

His remarks followed the killing of over 50 people in Bokkos Local Government Area of the state over the weekend after gunmen launched fresh attacks on several communities.

Dalung said, “There is nothing like herder-farmer clashes on the Plateau. These are terrorists. They have enclaves. They grab land, wrestle cattle, and displace natives. In the bush, there is a government, and these places are known.”

He argued that the Ministry of Livestock Development, created by the Federal Government, cannot solve the crisis.

“Let us not be hiding about the Ministry of Livestock. Ministry of Livestock cannot even do anything about this problem,” he said.

“If you sum up this, you will come back to this issue of lack of a political will because if the political will to deal with the situation is there, these people will be given their rightful designation.”

He insisted that the attackers were terrorists, saying, “If we must be very honest in dealing with the Plateau situation, first, we will have to stop pretending that it is herder-farmers’ clashes. Not at all. It is terrorism.

“It is genocidal because it has met the international definition of genocide. When a group of people attack another group with the intention of wiping them off the face of the earth, it is genocide. When you employ a policy of starvation and try to use that to wipe out a community or a group of people, it’s genocide. So what is happening is genocidal.

“There was no farm or other animals that were either wrestled by the community or they trespassed into any farmland that resulted in this series of attacks we are hearing.”

He also questioned the readiness of the security agencies to tackle the crisis.

“We couldn’t do anything because there are no access roads. I couldn’t fathom that because in a technologically-driven economy like ours, would the issue be that of access roads? What happened to drones and cameras, other sophisticated gadgets of intelligence gathering?” he said.

“The problem is for the Federal Government to designate these people with their rightful names, consider them criminals, and stop even attaching ethnic identity to them. Yes, predominantly they belong to an ethnic nationality. But I don’t see them as operating in the overall interest of that particular ethnic nationality.

“Rather, they are criminals. And so if we do not treat them as criminals, we will miss the point, and we’ll continue to hold visits to Plateau State by government officials, and they will be on top of the situation while the criminals are on top of the situation.”

Forty persons were killed and about 1,000 displaced in last week’s attack on Hurti, Manguna District of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau.

The Village Head of Hurti, Mr Maren Aradong, said this when the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Samuel Jatau, led other government officials on an assessment visit to the community on Sunday in Jos.

On April 2, gunmen attacked Hurti, Josho, Daffo, and other communities of the locality.

Governor Caleb Mutfwang had described the recent attacks and killings in some parts of the state as a coordinated crime sponsored by conflict merchants, and not farmer-herder clashes.

The Rivers police command has denied firing tear gas at peaceful protesters in the state.

Earlier on Monday, demonstrators converged at the Isaac Boro Park in Port Harcourt, the Rivers capital, to protest against the emergency rule in Rivers and the alleged abuse of the cybercrime act by the police.

The demonstrators, who are members of the ‘Take It Back Movement’, arrived at the protest venue as early as 9 am when police officers showed up to send them scampering in different directions with tear gas canisters.

Videos of police firing tear gas at protesters have since gone viral.

But in a statement, Grace Iringe-Koko, police spokesperson in Rivers, claimed that officers did not fire tear gas at the protesters.

Iringe-Koko said the police drove off “criminals and miscreants” from stealing valuables from the public instead.

“The Command wishes to categorically clarify that the report is unfounded. Upon receiving intelligence regarding the protest, our officers were promptly deployed to the specified locations,” the statement reads.

“On arrival, a group of miscreants was observed engaging in criminal acts, including the theft of mobile phones and other valuables from unsuspecting members of the public. Our operatives responded swiftly, dispersing the individuals.”

Iringe-Koko claimed that reports that police shot at protesters were intended to “incite public anxiety and create unnecessary tension within the state”.

Natalia Kanem, executive director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), has announced a 40 per cent decline in global maternal mortality since 2000.

According to NAN, Kanem spoke at an event organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to mark this year’s World Health Day.

The 2025 campaign, “Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures”, aims to eliminate preventable maternal and newborn deaths while enhancing women’s health.

Kanem noted that no country currently has an “extremely high” maternal mortality rate exceeding 1,000 deaths per 100,000 live births.

“Globally, women’s health during pregnancy and childbirth is better than ever before,” she said, attributing the results to medical advancements, reproductive autonomy, and quality maternal care.

She noted that while more births occur in healthcare facilities, care quality varies, with poor standards causing half of maternal deaths.

“Research finds that poor-quality care causes half of maternal deaths and shortages in essential medicines, equipment and skilled personnel plague many health systems,” she added.

“Discrimination further limits access for marginalised groups, even in wealthy nations. We can and must end preventable maternal deaths. We know what works and why.”

She called on stakeholders to provide strong laws, political and financial support for positive impact.

“On this World Health Day, let us prioritise investments so that we can reach zero preventable maternal deaths,” she added.

“Let us commit to building healthier, more just societies and to ensure that all women bringing life into this world can survive childbirth and thrive afterwards.”