From Henry Ibya, Makurdi
Tiv Youth Organisation, TYO, has called on President Bola Tinubu to direct the immediate withdrawal of soldiers since they have failed to protect Tiv people who are under attack.
TYO, in a communiqué issued at the end of its extraordinary general/security congress to review the security of Tiv people across Taraba, Nasarawa, Benue, Kwara, Plateau and other states of the federation held in Gboko, on Wednesday, said that they have lost confidence in the soldiers under whose watch Tiv people are being killed daily.
The communique signed by Comrade Bughse Teghtegh, Dennis Gbongbon, Buter Ternenge and Namakaa Ternenge, also demanded the release of the corpses of about 394 Tiv people killed between June 23 and July 4 last year in Keana Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
TYO recalled that Governor Hyacinth Alia had last year placed a ban on illegal mining activities in the state, but expressed worry why gold mining activities had continued in Kwande Local Government Area, alleging that scores of people are being killed daily with others displaced from their ancestral homes.
It also wondered why the Chinese who the people suspect are behind the illegal gold mining, are still carrying out their daily mining and exploitative activities.
TYO condemned the attack and continuous killing of its citizens, illegal mining, land grabbing, displacement of Tiv people in their ancestral homes and assets, insisting that as peace loving people who are the most accommodating ethnic group in Nigeria, they are not in any communal clash or at war with any other ethnic group and therefore deserve peace.
While commending Governor Alia for his vision to unite all the security outfits in the state, the group, however, called for the provision of operational vehicles and security gadgets for effective operation.
It equally thanked the Tor Tiv, Professor James Ayatse and Tiv Traditional Council for their good intentions to stop calamities in Tiv land.
