A coalition of Plateau indigenous youth organisations has defended the Department of State Services (DSS), the Mobile Police Force and Operation Rainbow, saying recent petitions and viral videos accusing security operatives of bias and criminality are deliberate attempts to derail anti-insurgency efforts.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, President of the Berom Youths Moulder-Association and Coordinator of Indigenous Youth Nationalities, Northern Zone, Dalyop Solomon Mwantiri, Esq., accused Fulani groups of attempting to undermine joint security operations through petitions and social media campaigns.
He called on the Federal Government to protect the DSS, Mobile Police Force and Operation Rainbow from what the coalition described as political and criminal pressure.
The youth bodies said the campaigns were a distraction that could benefit militants and called on the Federal Government to sustain ongoing security operations while investigating any allegations of wrongdoing.
The coalition, comprising Afizere, Anaguta, Atakar, Atten, Bache, Berom, Gamai, Irigwe, Kunlere, Mushere, Mwaghavul, Ron, Pan, Tarok and other ethnic youth bodies, stated its position at a press conference held on Wednesday at the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) FCT
Addressing journalists, leaders of the coalition said their attention had been drawn to a petition dated October 5, 2026, signed by Mujahid Abdullahi, Esq., on behalf of the Plateau chapters of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Gan Allah Fulani Development Association of Nigeria (GAFDAN), Fulbe Youth Development Association (FUYODA) and other organisations.
The petitioners had alleged biased and discriminatory operations against Fulani communities and held the DSS responsible for the killings and abductions of Fulani members, cattle rustling, the poisoning and shooting of cattle, among other crimes.
A video making the rounds on Facebook and other social media platforms made similar claims, alleging that only the Nigerian Army was acting in the interest of peace on the Plateau.
The coalition said the petition and video were intended to distort the facts and mislead Federal Government authorities and the general public.
According to the group, five objectives were discernible from the alleged campaign:
- To intimidate and blackmail the State Director of the DSS, Mr Paul Damian.
- To discredit the operations of the DSS, Mobile Police Force and Operation Rainbow, which, according to the coalition, led to the arrest of a notorious militant leader, Ardo Mahmoud Adams.
- To disrupt ongoing joint operations involving local security volunteers.
- To discourage inter-agency collaboration and intelligence sharing.
- To portray the Nigerian Army as the only effective security force in the state.
Presenting what it described as the facts of the matter, the coalition claimed that joint operations by the DSS, Mobile Police Force and Operation Rainbow had exposed a pattern in which cattle were allegedly grazed alongside armed militants who attacked and occupied communities.
The group alleged that at least 152 hamlets, villages and communities had suffered such attacks.
It said Mr Paul Damian and the DSS were not involved in killings or cattle rustling, adding that cattle intercepted while grazing on farmlands were held pending the identification of their owners and the alleged perpetrators.
The coalition also alleged that Fulani militants had continued to ambush security operatives.
It cited the June 1, 2026, attack on a newly deployed DSS base at Nding Sesut, Fan, in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, as well as the August 23, 2026, attack on Tanjol and Tarai villages in Jol community.
According to the coalition, more than 400 militants attacked the communities, ambushed and killed two DSS officers, and took away their rifles before retreating to Rankum, in the Mahanga area of Riyom Local Government Area.
It further alleged that Mobile Police Force officers were killed two weeks ago in Dares and Kwi villages in Bokkos and Riyom Local Government Areas, respectively.
The group also claimed that the Operations Officer of Operation Rainbow, DSP David Babale, was ambushed and killed near a military checkpoint around Rakok village, on the outskirts of Barkin Ladi.
The coalition said similar ambushes had occurred at Kantoma and Alohgom in Mangu Local Government Area.
It also alleged that sponsors of the militants were raising ₦20 million to intensify media campaigns, file court cases and publish petitions, particularly in certain media outlets, in an effort to frustrate the crackdown on insurgency.
The group called for a thorough investigation into allegations of unprofessional conduct, compromise and collusion involving some Army personnel.
It warned that any demand for the withdrawal of the DSS, Mobile Police Force and Operation Rainbow from Plateau State would amount to support for the continuation of attacks and displacement.
It urged President Bola Tinubu and other Federal Government authorities not to succumb to what it described as manipulation.
“We smell a rat,” the coalition said, adding that the petition and video should be regarded as “ploys and strategies of distraction” and should not be accorded any value.
The coalition called for the appreciation and encouragement of the security agencies rather than their distraction or arbitrary removal.
The statement was jointly signed by Amb. Ezekiel Peter Bini, President of the Irigwe Youths Movement and Chairman of the Coalition; Dalyop Solomon Mwantiri, Esq., President of the Berom Youths Moulder-Association and Coordinator, Northern Zone; Amb. Miri Timnan Nyantau, President of the Tarok Progressive Youths Association and Coordinator, Southern Zone; and Mr Jonathan Kyesmang Yusuf, President of the Mwaghavul Youth Movement and Coordinator, Central Zone.