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From Jude Owuamanam, Jos
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs)in Plateau State 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 property 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 massacres, barbaric acts of violence cowardly engineered which counter every known attitude of a normal human being, who believes in the sanctity of human life.
“The people of the state woke up to 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, the CSOs bemoaned the inability of security agents to take advantage of early warning signals.
“These incessant attacks have huge impacts on the formal education of the children, create an increase in 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,” he stated.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.
