Governors Express Concern Over Senseless Killings In Plateau State

The governors of north-central states have urged the federal government to find a permanent solution to end insecurity in the country as they expressed concern over the recent killings in Plateau State, which left at least 160 people dead.

Nassarawa Gov. Abdullahi Sule, who is also the chairman of the North Central Governors Forum (NCGF), compared the Plateau incident to the 1994 Rwanda genocide that killed more than 800,000, mainly Tutsis people, in 100 days.

Sule, along with Niger Gov. Mohammed Bago and Benue Gov. Hyacinth Alia, met Caleb Mutfwang, the governor of Plateau State, on Tuesday and donated N100 million to the victims of the Christmas Eve attacks, which displaced over 10,000 residents of Barkin Ladi, Bokkos and Mangu local government areas.

"We have seen a similar situation in Rwanda because I won't call what is happening in Plateau farmer-herder crisis. It's not," Sule said, adding it was essential to look at the root causes of this matter, Punch reported.

"We cannot allow a few people for selfish reasons to come in and destroy all of us. This is not about Fulani. It is about criminals and we are asking the Federal Government to assist us and deal with the problem," he added.

Sule also urged the federal government "to take the courage to find out the root cause of this matter because we can't continue to live like this."

"We are here to share with you whatever situation you find yourself in. I was here on a similar sad note, together with our delegation from Nasarawa State when it happened during the period of your predecessor," he added.

Mutfwang thanked his counterparts for expressing their concern over the situation in Plateau. He said bandits should be categorized as terrorists and kidnappers as thieves, adding that the labeling should be done correctly so that the government can accordingly deal with them.

The Plateau State governor pointed out that north-central Nigeria has so much resources and if the criminals are punished, it would benefit not just the region, but the entire Nigeria.

Gov. Alia urged Nigerians to unite and fight against terrorists who disrupt the peace in the north-central states.

Following the Christmas Eve incident, President Bola Tinubu took to social media to condemn the "heinous attacks" and directed the security agencies to immediately find the culprits.