…Asks FG To Probe Incidents Thoroughly, Hold Culprits To Account
…Gunmen Have Sent Letter Of Impending Attack — Middle Belt Forum
The UN human rights chief said on Thursday he was “deeply alarmed” by the string of attacks on villages in central Nigeria’s Plateau State which left nearly 200 dead, according to local authorities.
Armed groups launched attacks between Saturday evening and Tuesday morning in Nigeria’s Plateau State, a region plagued for several years by religious and ethnic tensions.
The region is on the dividing line between Nigeria’s mostly Muslim North and mainly Christian South.
“I am deeply alarmed by the series of attacks by gunmen on multiple rural communities in Plateau State,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.
“I call on the Nigerian authorities to investigate this incident promptly, thoroughly and independently, consistent with international human rights law, and to hold those responsible to account in fair trials.
“The cycle of impunity fueling recurrent violence must be urgently broken. The government should also take meaningful steps to address the underlying root causes and to ensure non-recurrence of this devastating violence.”
North-West and Central Nigeria have been long terrorised by bandit militias operating from bases deep in forests and raiding villages to loot and kidnap residents for ransom.
Competition for natural resources between nomadic herders and farmers, intensified by rapid population growth and climate pressures, has also exacerbated social tensions and sparked violence.
A jihadist conflict has raged in North-Eastern Nigeria since 2009, killing tens of thousands of people and displacing around two million, as Boko Haram battles for supremacy with rivals linked to the Islamic State group.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has made tackling insecurity a priority since coming to office in May, as he seeks to encourage foreign investment in Africa’s most populous country.
Gunmen Have Sent Letter Of Impending Attack On Plateau Village — Middle Belt Forum
Meanwhile, Dr. Stanley Kavwam, Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Middle Belt Forum, has said that gunmen sent a letter of an imminent attack on a community in Plateau State.
In an interview on Thursday with Arise News TV, Kavwam said the gunmen are planning to launch the attack on Pushit village in Mangu Local Government Area of the state on December 29 (today).
He said, “While I was driving down from Jos to this place, I received the call. A letter was sent to my own village that the terrorists, attackers are going to invade on the 29th, this December.”
He went on to say that this was not the first time that terrorists gave notice before invading a community in the state.
According to him, despite such notices, Nigerian security personnel still failed to put adequate security measures in place to protect people’s lives and property.
He continued: “All the attacks were orchestrated. There was a letter to that effect that was dropped by an anonymous person intimating the residents of Mangu Local Government Area to be precise that they would be attacked.”
He added that about 37 distress calls were received by the security personnel before the terrorist attack on Bokkos and Barkin Ladi areas of the state where they killed over 200 people during the Christmas season.
He added, “They received about 37 distress calls. That is Operation Safe Haven or the joint task force. About 37 distress calls, yet nothing was done.
“And we already know the security forces know the attackers. They even know their hideout; for the past two decades, they know where they orchestrate all of these attacks because that autonomous community called Mahanga which is at the foot of the hills bordering Wamba in the Nasarawa State, to the south is where these attacks are just orchestrated just the same one we have in the Mandarin Hills in Borno State”.
He continued, “For instance, the military relocated an entire community of over 11,000 people, leaving the entire Damboa Road free for the terrorists to operate freely. They even collect tolls on the road as if we are in the Banana republic.”
He reminded the government that the Nigerian constitution stipulates that the welfare and security of the people shall be the primary purpose of government, “without which the government loses its legitimacy,” he added.
Kavwam also berated the Nigerian Army and other security forces for allegedly colluding with terrorists, saying it had enabled the killing of Nigerians.
He said, “And yes, still nothing, nothing is done to protect the people. And these attacks could last for long, 12 hours to 24 hours and there is no security presence whatsoever all the time. Pushit community in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, a letter was signed today that they’re going to attack on the 29th.”
He revealed further that despite President Bola Tinubu’s directive to strengthen security in the state, terrorists continue to operate with impunity.
“The attacks are still going on. There is no response from the security authorities and I want you to know something. Gen T. Y. Danjuma alleged that the military colludes with these insurgents or terrorists to unleash terror on unsuspecting innocent citizens; the entire Nigerian space was caught up with a lot of accusations, name-calling and all of that. Are we not seeing that happening today?” Kavwam added.
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