Over 51 people were killed and dozens injured in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State, in a renewed violence that rocked the state lately. The worst hit areas were Zike community, Kimakpa, in the Kwall district of the council. The latest assault which took place on April 14, adds to the recurring wave of violence in the state. It came barely two weeks after an earlier attack in which 52 residents were killed in Bokkos Local Government Area in the state. Communities mostly affected were Hurti, Josho, Daffo, and others in Manguna area of the council. About 383 houses were burnt and 1,800 citizens displaced. The governor of the state, Caleb Mutfwang, alleged that the killings were genocidal and sponsored
The bloodbath has also been replicated in Benue State where 55 people were gruesomely murdered in deadly attacks in some communities in Logo and Ukum local government areas of the state. The Benue attack came three days after the bloodbath in Plateau. We condemn the killings in strongest terms and urge the government to take adequate measures to stop such incidents.
It is lamentable that some communities in Plateau, Benue and other states are becoming centres of bloodletting by killer herdsmen and rampaging bandits. Unfortunately, the deadly attacks have been on the increase. The latest round of violence in Plateau came on the heels of the sordid Christmas 2023 massacre that left about 200 people dead. In August 2021, 25 travellers in transit in Bassa and Jos North Local Governments were intercepted and killed by suspected sectarian militia near Jos. A few days later, gunmen invaded Yelwan Zangam Village, close to the University of Jos, and killed 37 people in apparent retaliatory attack. In January 2021, 150 individuals in Kuru Karama, Riyom Local Government, were killed by armed militia groups. Two months later, 500 people, including women, children, and even a four-day-old baby, were brutally murdered in Dogo Nahawa in what was believed to be a reprisal attack. In one area alone, the barbarity saw the slaughter of five infants and 28 children aged five and under.
Since 1994, when five lives were lost after the indigenous people of Berom, Anaguta, and Afizere rejected a sole administrator for the Jos North LGA, Plateau State has been a centre of ethnic recrimination, bloodletting and destruction. At a point during the time of President Olusegun Obasanjo when over 2,000 residents and indigenes were killed, emergency rule was declared in the state and the then governor, Joshua Dariye, suspended for six months. The measure did not end the cycle of violence. In April 2023, it was estimated that over 200 indigenes were killed within one month by murderous herdsmen in Benue State. Available records show that Benue State has the worst record of herdsmen attacks with over 2.5 million in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps.
The Plateau/Benue attacks have become recurrent and embarrassing to the government. The killing spree in the two states is a serious indictment on the government and relevant security agencies. The frequent killings in Plateau and Benue states should worry those in government. Those behind the killings and their sponsors must be apprehended and prosecuted forthwith. It is no longer enough to condemn the killings. There is need to ensure that the victims get justice. The recent incident in Plateau, coming barely after two weeks after the earlier attacks, indicates serious security lapse. Government should give the people hope. Security of life and property is the primary function of government. Only the government should have monopoly of instruments of violence, especially in maintaining peace and order. On no account must this responsibility be abdicated to any other group or persons.
The killings in Plateau and Benue call for reassessment and reorganization of response strategies by the security agencies. Let the security agencies recalibrate their intelligence gathering and sharing networks. There is need for the government to rejig its strategies in battling insecurity in the land. Drones and other high-technology equipment should be deployed in the exercise.
Instructively, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has promised to deal with the situation in Plateau, Benue and other trouble spots, is encouraging. The recent meeting by the Defence Minister, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and Service Chiefs, in which a new template for ensuring national security was discussed, is also a welcome development. It is time to walk the talk. Government should rise to the occasion. Insecurity in any part of the country is a threat to security in other parts. The development in Plateau and Benue states has justified the need for the establishment of state police. Nigeria is ripe enough for more layers of policing.