The Berom Youth Moulders-Association (BYM) has accused the leadership of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders
Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) in the state of a grand plot to shield a suspect who was arrested during an attack on the Pwomol village in Heipang District of Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State on the night of Sunday, April 5th.
During the invasion of the community, which led to the killing of two people and the destruction of properties by the gunmen suspected to be Fulani militia, one of the alleged perpetrators of the attack, identified as Suleiman, a Fulani man, was arrested by the local vigilante group and handed over to security personnel for further interrogation.
However, the BYM, in a statement on Thursday by its National President, Barr. Dalyop Solomon Mwantiri, said it has discovered a plot by MACBAN to shield the suspect by obtaining a forged medical report that would claim the suspect is mentally unstable.
In the statement, Mwantiri said the organization received credible intelligence from an anonymous but very reliable source indicating that MACBAN has allegedly perfected the plan and is currently making desperate efforts to procure what he described as a questionable medical certificate claiming that the suspect arrested in connection with the attack is mentally retarded.
“According to the intelligence report available to the Association, the alleged plan is to present the medical certificate to the Special Task Force (STF) under Operation Enduring Peace as grounds to pressure the authorities to release the suspect or face the threat of legal action,” the BYM President stated.
He decried the purported tactic deployed by the Fulani body, noting that the alleged move is a deliberate and desperate attempt to obstruct justice and shield an individual who reportedly participated in the attack that claimed three innocent lives in the Pwomol community.
“The Association wishes to state clearly that any such attempt must be rejected outright. Should any questionable medical certificate be presented in relation to this matter, the individuals responsible for producing or facilitating such a document must themselves be investigated and treated as accomplices in the attack against the people of Pwomol,” Mwantiri said.
He added that it is both illogical and unacceptable that a suspect who allegedly provided clear and detailed information about the attack in a community where he does not reside is suddenly being described as mentally unstable.
“The level of information reportedly supplied by the suspect about the incident raises serious questions about the credibility of any sudden claim of mental incapacity.
“The Berom Youth Moulders-Association therefore categorically rejects any attempt to manipulate the investigation or mislead security agencies and the Nigerian public to shield the suspect from facing justice.
“BYM wishes to make it unequivocally clear that the Berom people will not accept any cooked-up report or fabricated narrative intended to derail the course of justice. Any attempt to compromise the investigation will only deepen suspicions that certain interests are determined to frustrate accountability in the ongoing attacks against communities on the Plateau.
“Furthermore, any interference in the investigation process would send a disturbing signal to the international community that powerful interests may be working to undermine justice and the security of innocent citizens,” he added.