JTF has warned thousands of Plateau state residents to leave their homes as it begins an operation against those accused of a recent spate of deadly attacks.
In a recent attack on villages inhabited by Christian ethnic groups, some 100 people were killed by gunmen.
Two senior politicians also died after gunmen opened fire at a funeral for some of the dead.
Thousands of the residents are refusing to leave.
In a statement earlier yesterday, the umbrella body of the Fulani, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, said its member would not move an inch from the villages.
In a statement by its secretary, Mohammed Abdullahi, the group called on the Federal Government, the United Nations and all human rights organisations to call the Special Task Force, STF, in Jos to order over the quit notice issued to the four villages, which it said had predominantly Fulani inhabitants.
“We are calling on the Federal government, United Nations and other Human Rights bodies to put eyes on the possible genocide being planned by the soldiers,” the group said.
The Fulani body also warned of the consequences of allowing the STF to carry out its quit order saying “if this is allowed to happen, nobody should blame the Fulani man for taking every measure necessary to defend himself”.
It accused the STF of siding with the Berom people as if the Fulani are not also Nigerians who deserved equal treatment.
“We watch with dismay the conduct of STF, over aligning to the Berom Agenda of massively killing and destroying Fulani and their community, whereby they are planning genocide attack against the Fulani,” the statement said.
However, JTF says the recent attacks were carried out by local members of the mainly Muslim Fulani community and it has warned residents of six or seven villages to leave their homes by Monday afternoon.
“We are telling [residents] to evacuate the areas to avoid being caught in a crossfire when the operation begins,” said army spokesman Captain Salihu Mustapha.
The majority of the villages affected are inhabited by ethnic Fulanis but they are in an area where most people are from the largely Christian Berom community.
According to reports, 15-20,000 ethnic Fulanis are refusing to leave their homes despite the warning, while many thousands of Berom people have already fled the area following the recent violence.
The long-standing rivalry between the two communities stems from a dispute about who are the area’s rightful inhabitants.
Thousands of people have been killed in years of attacks between the rival communities.
Analysts say tensions between different ethnic and religious groups are often whipped up by local politicians.
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