PLATEAU KILLINGS: “FG Can Stop Violent Attacks If There’s Will” – Nigerians React To Mass Killings

Oru Leonard

Nigerians have continued to express condemnation over recent attacks in the Zikke and Kakpa communities in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State that claimed no fewer than 51 lives, while tasking the Federal Government to prevent future occurrences.

The ugly development happened barely one week after the National Emergency Management Agency confirmed that deadly clashes in another part of the state left 52 people dead.

The call was made during a radio programme, PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, on Wednesday in Abuja. The programme also examined a report by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) highlighting security concerns over the influx of beggars from neighbouring Republic of Niger into Abuja.

Security expert and public good advocate Prince Kevin Fyneface described the killings in Plateau communities as subtly genocidal, calling on the federal government to tackle insecurity in Plateau state and other parts of the country with every sense of sincerity and truth.

Fyneface alluded that the “President Bola Tinubu-led administration has what it takes to stop the spate of insecurity and wanton killings destabilizing the Plateau and almost every part of the country if there is will,” adding that true federalism and the adoption of effective community and state policing would go a long way in helping the Plateau combat violent attacks.

He asked Governor Caleb Muftwang of Plateau State to build cattle ranches in his state since the farmers/herders crisis is a serious part of it, while urging the residents of Plateau communities to rise in defence of their lives.

“My understanding of things, having been part of the government in the past, the attacks in Plateau communities are what I call the subtle genocidal reality that we’re faced with in these areas. It’s happening in Southern Kaduna, Benue, Plateau, and a bit of Taraba is also being affected recently; it’s subtle genocide taking place in those places.

“I agree that the federal government can stop what is going on if there is a will. President Tinubu has what it takes to stop the spate of insecurity. Also, true federalism can be of great help, and adopting community and state policing is important; citizens must defend themselves at this point. It is about self-preservation,” he stressed.

Fyneface identified poor and faulty recruitment processes in the military and law enforcement agencies as the bane of ineffective security of the country, adding that unequal and unfair treatment of security operatives goes a long way in undermining strategies to confront insecurity nationwide.

“Military and other security personnel are not well motivated. There is poor remuneration, poor housing, education, insurance, and health system. Our recruitment process should be based on merit, not ethnic or religious sentiments.

“Politicians are not supposed to be paid less than security agents. If we make these changes, security men will be able to do the right things and shun cutting corners, and as a country, we need to tell ourselves the truth. It’s high time we got to sit down together and say we are supposed to be a country and not a captured territory,” Fyneface stated.

On his part, Ukandi Odey, a journalist based in Jos, the capital of Plateau state, joined the call for the federal government to show sincerity and seriousness in its efforts to tackle insecurity in the state.

Odey decried the inability of security operatives and military personnel to avert the attacks or go after the perpetrators immediately. Disclosing that there is a wide belief that the recent attacks in the state were for “land grabbing purposes.”

He faulted President Tinubu’s continued stay in France on a working leave at a time bandits are unleashing terror on the Plateau, adding that governors can do small given the constitutional powers at their disposal, hence the need for the federal government to frontally address the worsening insecurity situation.

“I expected the federal government to be very sincere. We saw a press statement from the presidency with respect to the situation in Plateau; based on the issue canvassed in that press statement, I think the president is misinformed. President Tinubu should cut short his working leave in France and return to Nigeria at this point,” Odey said.

Speaking earlier during the radio programme, ICIR’s reporter, Nanji Nandang Venley, said the Nigerien beggars are trooping into Abuja due to hunger and insecurity, warning of the potential threat to the people’s safety.

According to Venley, the community of beggars from Niger occupy parts of the pedestrian in Lugbe, revealing that they are brought in their numbers by trucks daily.

She decried the lack of a proper and effective database of people resident in Nigeria, noting that “even Abuja, the nation’s capital, lacks an advanced security system to track the number of people coming in and going out.” She added that following the investigations, the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Nigeria Police Force, and the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) were all unable to react to the influx of foreign beggars into Abuja and plan to ensure they do not pose security problems.

Nigerians who called into the radio programme condemned the killings in Plateau state and urged the federal government to address the deleterious situation frontally and decisively, insisting that the federal government has what it takes to stop the killings in Plateau communities and other parts of the country.

President Bola Tinubu condemned the violence in the state, urging the state’s leadership to find a lasting solution to persistent communal conflicts.

Meanwhile, Gov. Mutfwang of Plateau in a statewide broadcast on Wednesday in Jos banned night grazing in all parts of the state following the spate of attacks and killings in some communities.

The governor assured residents of the state of his administration’s commitment to protecting lives and property and promised to support the state’s security agencies.

Public Conscience is a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program, PRIMORG, that draws the government’s and citizens’ attention to corruption and integrity issues in Nigeria.

The program runs in partnership with the MacArthur Foundation.

(PRIMORG Media)