Plateau killings: CSOs call for creation of North Central development commission

From Jude Owuamanam, Jos

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have called for the establishment of North Central Development Commission to take care of devastation caused by decades of internecine communal conflicts in the region.

The organisations said that the incessant killings and burning of properties have taken a big toll on the lives and economy of the region that it needed concerted efforts to solve.

Speaking at a press briefing in Jos on Friday, the CSOs, speaking through Chairman, Plateau CSOs forum, Rev Chris Damcher, expressed dismay that the killings in Plateau, which started since 7th September 2001, has since grown into massacre, and a barbaric act of violence cowardly engineered which counter every known attitude of a normal human being, who believes in the sanctity of human life.

According to him, “The people of the state woke upto the sad news of another spate of unprovoked, and unprecedented attack on innocent community dwellers in Bokkos, Mangu and Barkin-Ladi LGAs on Christmas Eve and Christmas day (24th and 25th of December 2023).

The attack left hundreds dead, several injured with properties destroyed. The act is not only barbaric and devastating but also scary.

This is very sad, unfortunate and unacceptable by any standard. It is an act of cowardice and outright wickedness to surround and kill innocent and harmless people in their sleep without any provocation.”

While expressing sincere condolences to the government, families and traditional heads of affected communities over the unfortunate and irreparable loss and pray that the souls of the departed rest in peace, the CSOs said bemoaned the inability of security agents to take advantage of early warning signals.

“As it is common with most of the attacks meted on communities, there is most often early warning security alerts circulated on the social media.

“We are fully convinced that such information usually gets to the security agencies and relevant authorities but we are so worried and saddened that each time such planned attacks by same so called Fulani militia are circulated, their plans are usually executed to a high percentage unabated.

What is really disturbing at this juncture is that there is hardly or never a proactive measure(s) by the security operatives to counter the early warnings circulated nor intercept the attackers in the act.

The early warning are often not mere social media assertions as most often taken, so dismissed by those who have the mandate to respond to such information.

These incessant attacks have huge impacts on the formal education of the children,creates an increase on number of vulnerable children, loss of breadwinners giving rise to child headed households, healthcare is compromised, food security is greatly threatened, loss of source of livelihood (mostly farming and mining), lowered quality of life and loss of housing amongst other issues.

Meanwhile the transition Committee chairmen of the 17 local government areas have condemned the Christmas Eve attack on three local government areas of the state.