President Bola Tinubu has strongly condemned the violence in Plateau State and urged the state’s authorities to resolve the ongoing intercommunal disputes in a sustainable manner.
This comes after deadly battles in another section of the state left several people dead, and early Monday morning in the Bassa Local Government Area of the North Central state, gunmen killed at least 51 people and injured scores more in the settlements of Zikke and Kakpa.
In Plateau, which has a history of violence between farmers and cattle herders, the National Emergency Agency(NEMA) reported last week that gunmen had killed at least 52 people and displaced around 2,000 others over the course of several days of attacks.
According to locals, 51 bodies were found in the villages of Zikke and Kimakpa in the Bassa district of the Plateau on Monday, while multiple others were apparently hurt.
“We cannot let the tit-for-tat attacks and this destruction go on. In a statement released on Monday by Bayo Onanuga, his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Tinubu declared, “Enough is enough.”
Tinubu expressed his deep sadness over the carnage, offering sympathies to Plateau residents, and Governor Caleb Mutfwang.
In Plateau State, “the continuous violence between communities, which is rooted in miscommunications between various ethnic and religious groups, must end,” the president contended.
As a result, he urged the governor to show political will in resolving the fundamental conflict-causing communal problems and bringing about lasting peace.
“Beyond dealing with the criminal elements of these incessant killings, the political leadership in Plateau State, led by Governor Caleb Mutfwang, must address the root cause of this age-long problem.
“These problems have been with us for more than two decades. We can no longer ignore the underlying issues.
“It is time to tackle them fairly and find a lasting solution. I have discussed these problems with the governor over time and offered suggestions for lasting peace,” the statement added.
Joseph Chudu, a local youth leader, verified the attack to The PUNCH in Jos, which started at around 12 a.m. on Monday.
Chudu claimed that a huge group of gunmen broke into the neighborhood, shot, and set fire to people’s homes, adding that attacks and shooting lasted for over an hour.
Following this, Amnesty International confirming the incident stated that the attackers also looted homes.
Amnesty in a statement said, “The inexcusable security lapses that enabled this horrific attack, two weeks after the killing of 52 people, must be investigated,”
It further highlighted that Plateau is one of several religiously and ethnically diverse hinterland states that make up Nigeria’s Middle Belt. In recent years, hundreds of people have died as a result of intercommunal warfare in these regions.
The violence between Muslim herders and primarily Christian farmers is frequently portrayed as an ethnoreligious conflict. However, two other significant effects are the increase of agriculture and the loss of grazing pasture due to climate change.
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[…] This is coming after the Bokkos Cultural Development Council (BCDC) said on April 4 that more than 10 persons had been killed by suspected herdsmen in the area with the death toll later rising up to 52. […]