Outrage over Plateau killings

There was outrage on Monday over the killings of over 100 people in three local government areas of Plateau State by herdsmen on Sunday.

Groups and individuals, who condemned the killings included President Muhammadu Buhari, the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki;  his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu;  the Peoples Democratic Party, the Christian Association of Nigeria and the Arewa Consultative Forum.

Plateau killings show Nigeria isn’t safe, says Saraki

On his part,  Saraki advised the President  to direct his security chiefs to immediately produce quick-response measures aimed at tackling the spate of killings in the country.

Saraki, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, in Abuja, said, “I am very sad to hear the news of the incident in Plateau State. This is very depressing and giving the impression that the country is not safe. The problem of Boko Haram in the North-East is well known to everybody, but this killing by unknown band of assailants in Benue, Taraba, Plateau and Kaduna states is now giving another dimension to the crisis.

“Coming at the time we are getting ready for elections, we need to respond fast. If the plan is to develop some long-term measures, we also request that the President should mandate the security chiefs to put forward an immediate short-term and quick-response measure which will restore confidence in the system and demonstrate to the criminals behind these killings the capacity of government to tackle the issue.”

CAN condemns killings, queries DSS competence

 CAN also expressed outrage over the killings in a statement by the Special Assistant, (Media and Communication) to its National President, Pastor Bayo Oladeji.

The Christian group noted that despite assurances by President Buhari that his government was committed to the safety of lives and property Nigerians were  being killed.

The group queried the competence of the Department of State Services and other security agencies.

“Of what relevance is the intelligence gathering by the Department of State Services and other security agencies? If communities can be attacked and hundreds slaughtered without security organisations providing rescue efforts, then it becomes obvious that Nigeria’s security system has been compromised,” CAN stated.

It added the killings in Plateau State showed that the Federal Government should review its security machinery to make it effective.

CAN also admonished the government to bring to book the assailants, adding that relations of the victims of the attacks needed more than assurances and promises of tracking down the criminals by the President.

Only restructuring can end killings – Ekweremadu

But Ekweremadu warned that more lives would be lost if Nigeria’s security architecture was not reorganised. He decried the reluctance of the country’s leaders to tinker with the nation’s security structure despite glaring lapses.

Ekweremadu, according to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Uche Anichukwu, said it was unfortunate because Nigerian leaders refused to learn from mistakes.

He stated, “There is no way you will have a federation like Nigeria, as big as it is with all the diversities, and continue to operate a centralised policing and expect it to work.  It will never work and it is a major problem. So, it is sad that this is happening. But, as I said, the real tragedy is that this Plateau incident is not going to be the last because we refuse to be corrected.”

Falana writes Lalong, demands arrest, prosecution of killers

Meanwhile, a human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), on Monday wrote Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State, demanding the arrest and prosecution of the killers of 86 unarmed persons in the state.

His letter to the governor was titled, ‘Request for the arrest and prosecution of the murderer of 86 unarmed people.’

Falana threatened that should the governor fail to “take appropriate action to stop the killings in Plateau State,” he would be compelled to report the Plateau State’s and Federal Government’s authorities to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court “for condoning crimes against humanity and genocide.”

He stated, “We wish to sympathise with the Government and people of Plateau State over the reckless and cold murder of 86 unarmed people in Razak, Ruku, Nyarr, Kura and Gana-Ropp villages of Gashi District in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area in Plateau State.

“While appreciating the measures adopted by Your Excellency to restore law and order in the affected local government it is high time that the brazen impunity of the serial murderers in Plateau State was challenged by the state government.

“Otherwise, the reckless killing of unarmed citizens by criminal gangs will continue unabated.

“Since a group has already claimed responsibility for the heinous crime, we are compelled to request Your Excellency to use your good offices to order the police to arrest and investigate the suspects.

“At the end of the investigation the Attorney-General of Plateau State should be directed to prosecute the suspects for conspiracy and culpable homicide.”

FG promoting injustice by not prosecuting killers – Taminu Turaki

Also, a former Minister of Special Duties, Taminu Turaki, in an interview with journalists in Abuja, berated the Federal Government for its failure to ensure justice by bringing those who committed crimes to book.

He stated, “As long as government does not ensure that there is justice, justice according to law, there will be problems in the country.  For me, once a crime is committed, I am not looking at the ethnic class of the person who did it.  A murder that is perpetrated by a Fulani man is the same as the crime perpetrated by an Ijaw man. It is the same as the crime perpetrated by a Nupe man.

“There is tendency in this government now to want to look at crimes from the perspective of background of those that committed them. That   is why there is a lot of disaffection.

 “I will give you an example. In the North-Central (Benue State), recently some people were arrested and charged to court for killing certain individuals. For goodness’ sake what is happening to other people that are daily being accused of killing farmers in their farms? As long as you do not see them as criminals—that is what they are—then there will be problems.”

Killings, callous, says ACF

Also, the northern socio-political group, the ACF, described as inhuman and callous the killings in Plateau State by suspected herdsmen.

The National Publicity Secretary of the ACF, Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim-Biu, said the northern body was deeply touched by dastardly acts in Riyom and Barkin Ladi Local Government Areas of Plateau State.

The forum expressed concern that the killings had been extended to innocent travellers. The ACF noted that killings under whatever guise could not be justified.

While calling on the Plateau State Government to reactivate its peace-building initiatives, the group appealed to aggrieved persons to channel their grievances through due process of the law.

The group said, “The Arewa Consultative Forum is deeply touched by the recent unwarranted and wanton destruction of innocent lives and property by some bandits in some communities in Riyom and Barkin Ladi Local Government  Areas of Plateau State.

“The heinous acts by the gunmen or bandits were callous and inhuman, considering the huge number of casualties in terms of lives lost and settlements affected.

“Unfortunately, travellers plying the roads within the local government areas affected were also victims of the attacks. Killing of innocent people for whatever reasons cannot in any way address the perceived concerns or grievances of the perpetrators of these crimes.

“The ACF once more appeals to all aggrieved persons to always channel their grievances through due process of law rather than taking the law into their own hands. This is because both the attacks and reprisals are targeted at innocent people who know nothing about the feuds.”

Attack is retaliatory – MACBAN N’Central chair

But the Chairman of MACBAN (North Central Zone), Danladi Ciroma, has described the Plateau killings as retaliatory.

He said, “These attacks are retaliatory. As much as I don’t support the killing of human beings, the truth must be told that those who carried out the attacks must be on a revenge mission.

“There have been recent reports of cow rustling and destruction of farms between Berom farmers and Fulani herdsmen. The people carrying out these criminal activities are well known to the communities but the communities are hiding them.

“Fulani herdsmen have lost about 300 cows in the last few weeks – 94 cows were rustled by armed Berom youths in Fan village, another 36 cows were killed by Berom youths. In addition to that, 174 cattle were rustled and the criminals disappeared with them to Mangu.

“Since these cows were not found, no one should expect peace in the areas. Even soldiers that went after the criminals to recover the rustled cows were shot by the armed rustlers and eventually escaped with all the cows.

“The government of Governor Lalong has done a lot to restore peace, but the criminal elements hiding among their people are the ones frustrating these peace efforts.

“Though the security agencies have tried, they need to do more by being fair to all parties; they should not neglect any report presented by Fulani of Berom because such report can lead to attacks and deaths if not properly handled.

“Criminals thrive a lot in Berom communities, but when the Fulani, who are always victims of their crime, react with attacks, they blame the government.

“These communities have leaders, why hide the criminals? They should fish out the criminals and hand them over to security agencies to avoid death of innocent ones.

“As it is today, the Berom man cannot go to farm, the Fulani cannot breed his cows in Berom land. This can be stopped if the security agencies do more than what they are currently doing. The attacks will stop as soon as the security agencies stop Berom youths from stealing Fulani cows.”

Berom people killed our people, stole their cows – Miyetti president

Speaking in the same vein, the National President of MACBAN, Muhammadu Kiruwa,  on Monday condemned reprisal in any form but alleged that Berom youths had recently killed five cattle merchants, stole their cows, about N1m and set their vehicles ablaze.

According to him, the genesis of the crisis has been rampant attacks and rustling of their cows by Berom youths in Barkin Ladi LGA.

He said, “The people have been stealing our cows and some of our people who were coming from market were attacked. Five of them were killed, they stole over N1m and up till now, the whereabouts of their corpses have not been known. Let the security agencies go and find out facts about this. That is the genesis of the crisis; every day, they kill one, kill two. Now, they will go and attack again and say it is Fulani people.

“Reprisal is not good. Let the government and security agencies caution both parties and enter into dialogue. I don’t know who carried out the attack on Barkin Ladi and other areas. But I know that Berom people have attacked my people in town, while coming back from cattle market.

“The situation (in Plateau State) is not good; we are not happy about what is going on because the lives of people are being endangered, not only Fulani or farmers, the lives of all Nigerians are in danger. We are not happy, we are calling on the security agencies and government to checkmate all these problems.

Buhari says human life becoming cheap in Nigeria

Also, President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday lamented that human life was increasingly becoming cheap in Nigeria.

He however heaped the blame on some unnamed politicians who he accused of taking advantage of the killings associated with herdsmen/farmers clashes in parts of the country.

He said some “desperate people” have continued to pursue their quest for instability and chaos which they hoped would give them an advantage in the coming elections.

Buhari said this in a statement made available to journalists by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.

He said, “We know that a number of geographical and economic factors are contributing to the longstanding herdsmen/farmers clashes.

“But we also know that politicians are taking advantage of the situation. This is incredibly unfortunate.

“Nigerians affected by the herdsmen/farmers’ clashes must always allow due process to take its course rather than taking matters into their own hands.”

The presidential spokesman indicated in the statement that information available to the Presidency showed that about 100 cattle had been rustled by a community in Plateau State, and some herdsmen were killed in the process.

He added that Lalong had invited the aggrieved groups and pleaded against further action while the law enforcement agents looked into the matter.

Shehu regretted that less than 24 hours later, violence broke out.

He said, “Some local thugs then took advantage of the situation, turning it into an opportunity to extort the public, and to attack people from rival political parties.

“There were reports of vehicles being stopped along the roads in the state, with people being dragged out of their cars and attacked if they stated that they supported certain politicians or political party.

“On his way back to Jos after attending the All Progressives Congress’ Convention in Abuja, the state governor had to dismantle a number of illegal roadblocks set up by these thugs.

“There were also a number of dead bodies the thugs had killed, lying along the road.”

PDP condemns Presidency’s statement on Plateau massacre

But the PDP in a statement on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan,  described as extremely callous, the statement by the Presidency on the killings.

The PDP said it was shocked that at the time Nigerians expected the Presidency to take immediate steps to restore order, safeguard the lives of the people, exert justice and bring succour to victims, the Presidency toed the path of divisiveness, which it said was capable of worsening the tense situation in the state.

Ologbondiyan said, “It is unfortunate that rather than taking actions to get to the roots of the killings and banditry in the land, President Muhammadu Buhari resorted to political colouration by engaging in his usual blame game of unnamed politicians.

“It is equally disgusting that the Presidency relegated the main issue of the murder of our citizens and how to track down the perpetrators and bring them to book, thus confirming the fears of most Nigerians that this administration does not care about the lives of the people.

“The PDP insists that the basic responsibility of government, which is to ensure the safety and harmonious living of all Nigerians, ensure that our laws apply at all times and circumstances, without any fear or favour, has been completely abdicated by the Buhari administration, thereby leaving our people at the mercy of marauders.

The PDP, in another statement, insisted that  Buhari’s failure to bring to book, the perpetrators of killings in various parts of the country was emboldening insurgents and marauders.

The PDP, in another statement, insisted that Buhari’s failure to bring to book, the perpetrators of killings in various parts of the country was emboldening insurgents and marauders.”

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