The global president of the Mwaghavul Development Association (MDA), Deacon Bulus Dabit, has condemned the killing of 25 persons by gunmen in Bim-per community, Kombum District of Mangu LGA of Plateau State.

He described the attack as senseless and a grievous crime against humanity.

Dabit appealed to the youths not to abandon the values of peace and restraint, saying that the strength of the Mwaghavul people lies in sustaining peaceful coexistence.

He stated this when he addressed youth groups and community leaders during a condolence visit at the Palace of Mishkaham Ruff.

He expressed concern over the indiscriminate nature of the latest attack, saying children and older adults were among the victims.

“If you look at the senselessness in which this act took place, children, aged people, when I say children, I’m talking about even children who were two years old, were shot, one year old shot. What manner of attack is that?

“I believe that these people have lost their sense of humanity. As they are coming out, they are no longer human beings,” he said.

The MDA president also called for a broader national conversation on the persistent violence attributed to armed groups operating across different parts of the country.

He cited attacks and insecurity in parts of Zamfara, Katsina and other regions, saying the recurring violence should compel the Federal Government to examine the underlying causes.

“Probably, we should convene a national conference and allow them to tell us why this is happening. What do they want from Nigeria? What do they really want?” he asked.

Dabit further insisted that the community had hoped the recurring bloodshed would end and had been educating and preparing its people for peace, enabling those who had fled the area to return.

He, however, expressed sadness that some people who had left the community were allegedly returning with terrorists to attack the people.

“We have thought that this carnage would stop. We have been educating and preparing our people so that even those who have left our community can come back.

“But we now can see that the same people that we wish well and want to come back, because we did not send them away, are allegedly leading terrorists back to come and attack us. This is very, very sad, and I’m saddened by what has happened. The entire community is saddened,” he said.

Dabit said the attack was inconsistent with the values of the Mwaghavul people, insisting that the community had never encouraged its people to attack other communities.

“This is not Mwaghavul. We would not go out of our boundaries and go somewhere and attack anybody,” he said.

According to him, the community had, since the 2001 crisis, worked to prevent reprisals and ensure that children were not mobilized into violence.

The MDA president, however, commended the resilience of youths in the community, saying their response helped prevent an even greater loss of lives.

He acknowledged the anger among the youths, saying they believed community leaders should have been able to prevent the attack, but argued that the scale of the assault made it extremely difficult for residents to repel the attackers.

“Nobody would have prevented this apart from God. When they come in large numbers, and they go to a soft target — a soft target that has very few people — and attack them, they have sharp knives, they have guns,” he said.

Dabit alleged that the attackers sometimes moved in very large numbers, making it difficult for communities to withstand their attacks.

“As a people, we believe that our strength lies in our patience, in our love, in our peace. These are values that are very critical to us,” he said.

Dabit said the Mwaghavul community remained committed to peaceful coexistence with Nigerians from other ethnic groups living in Mangu, stressing that the community was not at war with any other group.

“We will continue to love Nigerians who come to stay in Mangu. We are not at war with any community,” he said.

He noted that Mangu had become home to people from different parts of Nigeria, saying the crisis should therefore not be viewed as a conflict between the Mwaghavul people and other ethnic groups.

Dabit urged Nigerians to seek peaceful solutions to the security challenges rather than allowing the situation to divide communities further.