By Faith Chondol
Senator Pam Mwadkon Dachungyang has condemned the Director-General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), over his description of attackers of the institute as “Berom militias,” describing the remarks as false, insulting and capable of tarnishing the image of the Berom people.
The senator who represents Plateau North in the National Assembly Abuja,made his position known in a statement issued on Saturday, a day after Omotayo made the comments during a television interview while discussing three separate attacks on the institute.
Dachungyang rejected what he described as an unfair characterisation of the Berom ethnic group and Plateau State, warning that attempts to misrepresent the people would be firmly resisted.
He said the identity of the Berom people is founded on integrity, hospitality, peaceful coexistence and communal harmony, insisting that the community’s long-standing reputation cannot be destroyed by what he called false narratives.
The lawmaker noted that the Berom and other communities in Plateau State have themselves suffered years of unprovoked attacks and loss of lives, arguing that branding the Berom as a militia amounts to an attack on the people’s collective identity.
He also recalled the cordial relationship between NIPSS and its host community in Kuru since the institute was established in 1979, saying there had never been any record of hostility between both parties.
According to him, the sixteen previous directors-general of the institute consistently acknowledged the peaceful disposition of the host community, making Omotayo’s remarks both surprising and unjustifiable.
Dachungyang acknowledged that the Kuru community had raised concerns over land compensation involving the institute but said engagements on the matter had remained peaceful and constructive without any form of confrontation.
He questioned the basis upon which the NIPSS director-general concluded that those behind the attacks were Berom militias despite the absence of tension between the community and the institution.
The senator maintained that the Berom people’s reputation, built over generations, remains a testament to their peaceful nature and integrity, stressing that no public official, regardless of status, should undermine those values through unsubstantiated claims.
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