Fulani Leaders In Mangu Reject DSS, Operation Rainbow, Local Vigilante, Prefer Soldiers

Leaders of the Fulani community in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State have vehemently rejected the continued presence of some security operatives like the Directorate of State Services, DSS, the regular police, the state-run Operation Rainbow as well as local vigilante groups operating in the council.

The Fulani leaders who bared their mind in a viral video on Thursday, said they were against the security operatives and would only prefer the presence of regular soldiers to be stationed in hotspots in the LGA.

According to them, operatives of the DSS, Operation Rainbow, the police and local vigilante groups target their members and look the other way whenever herders are attacked and their cattle stolen.

Speaking in the video, one of the Fulani leaders is heard saying:

“Mu yanzu a Mangu, ba mu son DSS, ba mu son Police, ba mu son Operation Rainbow, ba mu son vigilante. Soja ne mu ke so.”

When translated into English, the remarks said:

“We in Mangu, we don’t want DSS, we don’t want the Police, we don’t want Operation Rainbow, we don’t want vigilante, we only prefer soldiers.”

The Fulani leaders also accused security operatives of illegally detaining over 80 cows belonging to their members and demanded the immediate withdrawal of the law enforcement agencies from Mangu, claiming only soldiers would ensure their protection and a sense of justice for them

They also lamented that operatives of the DSS and Police had been unfair to them, following allegations of arrest of several armed Fulani militants in several parts of the LGA, which they claim have been targeted attacks on them.

One speaker in the video repeatedly called for the deployment of soldiers instead, stating that soldiers treated them nicely and would often only ask what they were doing even when caught with firearms.

Another speaker, while criticizing law enforcement agencies under the present administration, was clearly heard saying “soldiers obey us.”