Abuja
Weekend killing of innocent travellers in Jos, the Plateau state capital, is outrageous and should be condemned by peace-loving Nigerians, the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) has said.
The Forum, in a press statement issued by its national publicity secretary, Dr Isuwa Dogo, Tuesday, said there could be no justification for the unwarranted killings that have ripped across various communities on the Plateau over the last few months.
It however slammed the security forces over what it called “The display of apathy in containing this massive destruction of lives and property, which has encouraged the perpetuation of such heinous crimes.”
Specifically, MBF recalled that “many communities in Plateau state have come under never-ending attacks by killer herdsmen in the past, especially in the last few days. It is on record that no fewer than 65 villages and towns in the state have been sacked, and till today, there is no genuine effort deployed to chase away invaders that are presently occupying these sacked communities.
The Forum condemned what it called the ‘hasty identification of victims and the alleged perpetrators of these crimes,’ noting that, “with the Irigwe Development Association (IDA) disassociating itself from the attack, it is imperative that searchlights be beamed on other areas in order to unearth the truth.
While tasking security agencies to find out where the travellers were coming from, MBF said, “Initially, the police had disclosed that the slain travellers hailed from Ekiti and Ondo states, but it was later discovered that they were Fulani, with not a single Yoruba man.”
Among other things, MBF tasked security forces with finding out; “Was one of the vehicles in the convoy carrying a large cache of arms? Where were the travellers headed for and from where were they coming? Could the Irigwe youths as claimed by the Police, be engaged in mourning and burying the dead and at the same time perpetrating bedlam against travellers?
