A group of professionals, under the auspices of Middle Belt Journalists Forum (MBJF)  has expressed disguise and shocked over renewed violence in parts of Plateau State during the week where students and members of a  Community were mowed down by forces of evil.

This was contained in a statement signed and made available to newsmen in Jos, over the weekend by the National president and Secretary of the forum, Mark Mayah and Ladi Emmanuel.

The Forum call on the Military Authorities and particularly the Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. General Christopher Musa, the Service Chiefs, and the top echelon of security and defence formations in the country to save the Middle Belt region from the deadly attacks allegedly by armed marauding herdsmen who have laid siege on several communities in the region as exemplified by the killings in Plateau, Benue and Kogi States in recent time.

"The recurring incidents in the region to say the least, are  most unfortunate, barbaric and  tragic and those responsible for the attacks and killings must be tracked down and held accountable as the killings in the region have assumed a monumental proportion. 

"The region which seems to be the sole target for these genocidal attacks has remained under the stranglehold of the killers for over two decades.

"The most recent of this genocide was the maiming and killing of no fewer than 50 innocent citizens in Bagana, Otutubatu, Iyade, Agbenema, Agojeju-Odo in Omala Local Government Area of kogi state; the massacre in Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State where twenty -eight people were killed on April 17, Mangu and  Bokkos Local Government Areas of Plateau State where over seventeen people were killed, and Plateau State University, Bokkos campus where some students were gunned down by the herdsmen /terrorists.

"We are very sad at the development and we are calling on the Federal Government to step up effort to end this act of continuous blood bathe in the Middle Belt geopolitical zone of the country."

The Forum further said the region has made enough sacrifices to keep this country together and must be appreciated than what is happening now.

They said it is wrong for anyone to label what is happening in the region as farmers/herdsmen conflict while in actual sense, it is ethnic cleansing with the aim of possessing the ancestral land.

"The Federal government should muster the political will that is required to save the region from the systematic genocide.

"The life of every Nigerian is sacred and important and it is the responsibility of the federal government to protect the masses against internal and external aggression. It is high time the Authorities sit-up to its primary responsibility of securing the country.

"We are also appealing to the Inspector General of Police, all the Service Chiefs and the National Security Adviser to swiftly intervene and thoroughly investigate the cause of the persistent killings. We seek humanitarian assistance for those displaced by the conflict.

MBJF share in the grief of the families of those that lost their lives in the unfortunate incidents and call on the people to be steadfast and co-operate with  the  security forces for the restoration of lasting peace” .

They demands for the recovery of public schools, health care facilities and farmlands currently under occupation  by these armed terrorists.