Tension In Plateau State Over Killings

 Tension In Plateau State Over Killings

There has been palpable tension in Bassa local council of Plateau State following the killing of 11 persons in Ta’agbe community of Miango chiefdom by gunmen in the early hours of yesterday. The state Police Command also confirmed that 30 houses were burnt during the attack.

In a statement, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Uba Ogba, said: “On 26/11/2021 at about 0130hrs, the Command received a report of an attack by yet to be identified gunmen at Ta’agbe Village of Bassa LGA of the State.

“Upon receipt of the report, the Commissioner of Police, Plateau State Command, Bartholomew Onyeka, immediately drafted a tactical team of the Command to the scene to avert further attack.

“Unfortunately, 10 persons were killed and about 30 houses set ablaze by the attackers.

“The Commissioner of Police further led other Senior Officers of the Command to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment and to console with the victims of the attack.

“The CP has directed that discreet investigation be carried out and assured the community of his readiness to fish out the perpetrators of this barbaric act.”

In a swift reaction, Governor Simon Lalong condemned the attack, describing it as the handiwork of criminals who are bent on “instilling fear, pain and sorrow” on fellow residents.

A statement by his spokesman, Makut Macham, quoted Lalong as further saying the state government would do everything within its powers to bring the attackers to justice.

“This is another sad incident, which is clearly the handiwork of criminals who are bent on instilling fear, pain and sorrow among the people.

“This is aimed at destabilising the state and making fortune from their criminality as well as rupturing the substantial peace attained. The persistent attacks in this area remain condemnable and unacceptable to government.

“As such, no resources and efforts will be spared in painstakingly following up on the trail of those who derive joy in attacking and killing innocent citizens and destroying their homes and means of livelihoods.”

Lalong also directed the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and the Plateau Peace Building Agency (PPBA) to provide relief items to victims of the attack.

It could be recalled that on Saturday, July 31 and Sunday, August 1, this year, attacks on Miango chiefdom by gunmen saw about 40 people dead, all Irigwe indigenes.

The unfortunate incident, which was condemned by both Christians and Muslim Ummah, later snowballed into another bloody mayhem at Rukuba Road in Jos North local council of the state on Saturday, August 14. On that fateful day, the Miango people (the Irigwes) had evacuated the bodies of the dead from the mortuary of Plateau Specialist Hospital for mass burial in their village.

As the mourners moved slowly, some travellers, moving in five buses, ran into them. Reports had it that the mourners stopped the buses and were told by the travellers who are Muslims that they were coming from their annual Zikr programme, which was held in Bauchi State, and going to Ikare in Ondo State. They explained that they were taking Rukuba Road as a shortcut to avoid the traffic jam inside the city. Notwithstanding their explanation, the youths allegedly descended on them and killed 23 of them instantly with about 40 of them said to have been missing. They also allegedly set fire on some of the buses.

The crisis escalated further, forcing the state government to impose a 24-hour curfew on Jos North local council. The government had also banned the operations of tricycles in the area. As a result of the tension caused by the crises, many families and also state governments evacuate their relatives/indigenes from the troubled areas. The state governor, Simon Lalong, had lifted the curfew on September 8 after normalcy was restored.

Yesterday’s killings and destructions in Miango came barely two months and three weeks after the curfew was lifted. Reacting to the development in a statement, the Secretary General of Irigwe Development Association (IDA), Danjuma Auta, accused security agencies of negligence, noting that it was an indication that the peace accord earlier signed by the conflicting parties had broken down.

His words: “We have to write this statement stating our pain concerning the renewed orchestrated attacks on our people for no any reason having enjoyed some relative peace that lasted for some weeks now.