"Fulani Group Assures Rev Dachomo: 'No One Is Out to Harm You'"

Table of Contents

• Group Reaction to Allegations
• Anonymous Group's Statement
• Rev. Dachomo's Response
• Fulani Group's Position
• Call for Accountability

A collective known as ‘Plateau Fulani Like-Minds’ (PFL) has responded to widespread claims that the outspoken clergyman, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, has been targeted for assassination by certain Islamic extremists and bandits within a week due to his insistence that Christians are being killed in Plateau State.

The Anonymous Group, a decentralized international online collective recognized for its “hacktivism,” which includes cyber attacks and online demonstrations against entities such as governments, raised an alarm in a post on its Facebook page on Friday, asserting that Rev. Dachomo has been marked for elimination.

In the post, the Anonymous Group stated that some Islamic terrorists and bandits had issued orders to assassinate Rev. Dachomo within the next seven days, believing he was responsible for Trump's intervention.

“Images of Pastor Dachomo Bwede Ezekiel, a man of God, have been circulated among Islamic terrorists and bandits in the region. They have given orders to eliminate him within the next week, believing he is the cause of Trump's intervention.

“The militants are enraged that their livelihoods and lives are now at risk, allegedly due to this man. The directives are clear: “Kill him and behead him,” the group warned.

Rev. Dachomo himself has claimed in several Facebook posts and videos that he has been receiving death threats through calls and messages, but he insists that he is unafraid of death as long as he stands for the truth.

In one of these posts, he stated:

“They have been threatening me everywhere, even on social media. They even threatened to kill me during mass burials. They did the same to Senator Gyang Dantong; he was killed during a burial. They have vowed to kill me. Even the Nigerian Army issued a press release against me, accusing me of inciting people. But they are the ones inciting the Muslims against us by failing to make arrests.”

However, in a statement signed on Saturday by the Chairman of the Fulani group, Usman Balarabe, the PFL claimed that the clergyman has been exploiting the violence in Plateau State to deceive what they describe as his “gullible followers” to gain popularity.

Balarabe remarked that it is amusing that Rev. Dachomo is the only Christian cleric in the state who has taken it upon himself to stir up sentiments against the Fulani people whenever there is an attack in any part of the state, consistently blaming the Fulanis as the culprits of such attacks.

He noted that Rev. Dachomo's actions are similar to giving a dog a bad name to justify its hanging.

“We, the Plateau Fulani Like-Minds, have observed with great concern how a respected clergyman, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, has been inflaming sentiments daily, claiming that he has been receiving death threats from Fulani individuals and other Islamic groups,” Balarabe stated in the statement.

“However, we want to remind Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo that, as far as the Fulani people in Plateau State are concerned, no one is planning to kill him. He is merely trying to tarnish our reputation by making his gullible followers believe that Fulani people wish to harm him.

“We would like Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, if he has the consciousness of a true man of God, to publicly disclose the threat messages he has been receiving.

“He should also disclose the names of individuals and groups that have been threatening him for everyone to see.

“We respect Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo and hold him in high regard, but he is gradually crossing the line with his frequent allegations that the Fulani people in Plateau State intend to kill him.

“But the big question remains: why would we want him dead? To clarify, the Fulani people are peaceful.

“We acknowledge that there are criminal elements among us, just as there are criminals among the Berom, Tarok, Mwaghavul, Irigwe, Angas, Afizere, and other tribes in Plateau State. Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo only targets Fulanis to accuse them of crimes.

“This ethnic generalization must end. We can no longer tolerate the way the reverend continues to accuse the Fulani people of conspiring to kill him. As far as we know, we are not plotting any harm against him.

“We also urge security agencies to intervene, as we will not remain silent while he disparages our ethnic group at every opportunity,” Balarabe concluded.