The North Central Governors' Forum (NCGF) has urged the Federal Government to get to the root of the perennial killings in Plateau State for lasting peace.
The chairman of the forum, Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, made the call in Jos yesterday when he led his colleagues on a condolence visit to Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang over the Christmas Eve attacks on 23 communities in Bokkos, Mangu, and Barkin-Ladi Local Government Areas which led to the death of over 150 people.
Sule described the attacks as pure terrorism and called for the deployment of technology to identify perpetrators and curb their operations in the North Central.
The Nasarawa governor added that the attacks had persisted for too long and insisted that various stakeholders must get to the roots of the problem and find a lasting solution to it.
He said, "We are here to share with you whatever situation you find yourself. I was here on a similar sad note, together with our delegation from Nasarawa State when it happened during the period of your predecessor.
"During the period, we asked specifically for the religious leaders to be the ones in the majority, because we wanted to talk directly with our religious leaders; to talk to them about the need to continue to preach peace to our people.
"When we were coming, we talked about peace that we have always enjoyed on the Plateau, the love that has always been there; the period that some of us would walk from Dilimi, Rex, Kwararafa, the New Era and back to Kasuwa Dareng; those loving periods that all the people in Plateau used to enjoy. What has happened?" he asked.
"Your Excellency, we came all the way to ask you to take the courage to find out the root cause of this matter because we can't continue to live like this", he said.
Besides efforts at the state level, the North Central governors' chairman also called on the Federal Government to get to the root of the lingering killings.
He said this was the only way to find a lasting solution for the crisis which has been lingering for over two decades.
"We have seen a similar situation in Rwanda because I won't call what is happening in Plateau 'farmers-herders crisis'; it is not.
"We have seen what happened in Rwanda and luckily, all the four of us governors were there and we listened to the President of Rwanda when he told us the courage he took to invite everybody involved and looked at the causes.
"We cannot allow a few people, for selfish reasons, to come in and destroy all of us. This is not about Fulani. It is about criminals. And we are asking the Federal Government to assist us and deal with the problem", he said.
He expressed confidence in Governor Mutfwang's ability to address the issue with wisdom and courage, noting that Plateau is a true home for Nigerians "and so there is need for collective responsibility of all Nigerians in addressing the challenge".
Governor Sule also hinted about plans by the North Central governors' forum to organise a security and economic summit that will fashion out sustainable solutions to various challenges confronting the Region and its people. The Nasarawa governor was accompanied to Jos by Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue and thier counterpart from Niger, Umar Bago.
In their separate remarks, Alia and Bago called for unity to safeguard the common destiny of the people of the North Central.
They also canvassed for investments in agriculture to harness the zone's abundant natural resources.
On his part, Mutfwang thanked the governors for their concern over the situation in Plateau, noting that the people of the region were meant for unity and progress and not for division.
He also reaffirmed his dedication to collaborating with fellow North Central governors to promote peace, unity and substantial development in the zone.
He expressed gratitude for their support, emphasizing that the North Central is a cohesive force in the nation and that the region's abundant natural resources have potential benefits for the entire nation.
He called for united efforts to combat armed banditry, terrorism and criminal activities prevalent in the zone.
He also appealed to the Federal Government for assistance in dualizing the Wamba-Panyam and Akwanga-Jos Roads, saying they are crucial gateways for security operations in the North Central.
Mutfwang also extended gratitude to the governors for donating N100 million to support the victims.
On his part, Gbong Gwom Jos, Da Jacob Gyang Buba, appreciated the governors' unity and urged them to focus on the zone's mineral resources for the prosperity of its people.
NBA asks Tinubu to prioritise security
The president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Yakubu Maikyau, SAN has attributed the recent Plateau killings to the failure of intelligence.
In a New Year message released yesterday by the NBA's National Publicity Secretary, Akorede Habeeb-Lawal, he described the killings as "inexcusable and unacceptable".
Maikyau charged President Bola Tinubu to prioritise the security of lives and property in 2024.
He said the recent accidental drone attack by the military on Tudun Biri in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, which killed over 100 persons during a Maulud celebration, indicated a gap in the nation's security architecture.
He stated, "From the information made available by the military and other security sources, the Tudun Biri incident is suggestive of the gap in our security architecture - lack of inter-agency synergy and coordination, while the attack in Plateau is indicative of poor intelligence gathering or, a deliberate failure to act despite the intelligence on the impending attacks on the villages, or notice of the attack on the villages by the bandits, as reported by community leaders.
"Government, through our Armed Forces and other security agencies, must ensure that no square inch of the Nigerian territory is left ungoverned; no part of Nigeria should be left under the control of criminal elements by whatever name so-called. Government must make deliberate investments in security, of such a scale and magnitude, which will leave Nigerians in no doubt as to the sincerity of the statement made by the President.
"The Federal Government must adopt a holistic approach to the issue of security while not overlooking the peculiarities of each region and design bespoke measures to deal with them. In this wise, the government must neither be "scared" nor "ashamed" to make the right investments in security, in line with global trends, without compromising our sovereignty."
PANDEF, Afenifere, Ohaneze, MBF seek end to killings in North
Leaders and elders of the South-East, South-West, South-South and Middle Belt zones, under the aegis of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF), have urged President Tinubu to end killings in the North to restore citizens' dignity and national pride.
They made the call yesterday in an open letter to Tinubu, titled, 'Killings in the Middle Belt and Threat to Nigeria's Continued Corporate Existence: The Buck Stops with You.'
The letter was signed by an elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark; a leader of the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo; the President-General of the Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, Dr Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu; the president of the Middle Belt Forum, Dr Pogu Bitrus and the national chairman of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Senator Emmanuel Ibok-Essien.
They also urged Tinubu to, in no distant future, close all Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps to end the "shameful and sinful policy of building such refugee camps for the indigenous peoples while their ancestral homes are allowed to be occupied by the armed invaders."
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They said the horror of the Christmas Eve massacre in Plateau State was not different from the situation in Benue where several communities, particularly in Kwande, Gwer-West, Guma, Makurdi and Logo Local Government Areas "are perennially attacked by the pampered armed Fulani ethnic militias who have taken over other people's lands and homes."
"In Kaduna State, and Southern Kaduna particularly, Chikun, Kajuru, Kachia, Zangon Kataf, Kauru, Lere, Birnin Gwari, and Giwa LGAs are largely under the control of terrorists."
The leaders also stated that "the situation in Niger State is not different, if not worse, as according to the immediate past governor of the state, Abubakar Sani-Bello, terrorists (he called them bandits) have taken over 12 local government areas in Niger State as confirmed during his visit in 2022 to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at the Central Primary School, Gwada."
The SMBLF leaders said they were moved by the patriotic desire for the corporate continuity of Nigeria and the peaceful and mutually respectful coexistence of its diverse nationalities.
They, therefore, urged Tinubu to hold "an honest and truthful security inquiry to determine communities wherein the original inhabitants have been displaced in the last two decades and enforce the immediate return and resettlement of the people in their ancestral homes."
They urged that the security agencies, including the police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and others be specially trained and equipped to rise to the challenges "as Nigeria is fast becoming a banana or pariah state of its kid-gloves treatment of terrorism."
They also requested that urgent steps be taken to restructure Nigeria in line with the tenets of true federalism "to legitimize multi-level policing such that states and communities will provide commensurate security for their people."
