Plateau Killings: Police Arrest 5 Suspects As Gov-elect Blames Mercenaries

The Plateau State Police Command has disclosed that five suspects have so far been arrested in connection with the recent killings in the State.

This is as the State governor-elect, Caleb Mutfwang, claimed that foreign mercenaries were behind the incessant attacks and killings in some communities in the State.

LEADERSHIP reports that over 20 persons were killed in Fungzai  and Kubat  communities of Mangu local government area of Plateau State on Tuesday morning.

The governor-elect, who spoke Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ monitored by our correspondent in Jos on Tuesday night,  blamed foreign mercenaries for the incessant attacks on Plateau people.

He admitted that he was not in the best position to speak about the crisis since he was yet to be sworn-in as a governor of the State,  Mutfwang, however, said: “I can assure you that these people are brought in from outside those communities.”

When asked if the attackers are Nigerians, he said, “I don’t have exact details to give you at the moment. But all the years down the line, a lot of their identities have been revealed that these are not Nigerians and they have been brought in as foreign mercenaries.”

According to Mutfwang, the mercenaries were being sponsored but he did not know those behind it.

“The purpose of those who perpetrate the attack may just be because they are hirelings. I want to ask: who is the person that is sponsoring them? Who is instigating them? What is his aim?

“Sometimes, it is difficult to disabuse your mind that this is not about land grabbing. The communities that have been displaced by now, it is not as if they are vacant. Some people are occupying them.

“We think it has a lot to do with land grabbing. It has a lot to do with demarketing of the state because I can tell you that the security situation in the Plateau is not the worst in the North. But there has been a lot of demarketing of the Plateau,” the governor-elect said.

He also promised to work for the people, maintaining he won’t loot the state’s resources.

“My appetite for greed has been trimmed and I can assure you that I am not going there for stealing,” Mutfwang added, saying: “I am only going there to make sure that Plateau works.”

Meanwhile, the Plateau State Police Command has disclosed that five suspects have so far been arrested in connection with the killings and are currently in the custody of the Special Task Force code-named Operation Safe Haven (OPSH).

According to a statement issued in Jos by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Alfred Alabo, he said exhibits recovered from the bandits  include AK47 rifle, a revolver pistol and cartridges.

“In the course of the struggle with the attackers, one Cpl. Abdullahi Umar 07NA attached to Sector 8 STF sustained bullet injuries and is currently receiving treatment at the STF headquarters, Jos,” the PPRO stated.

The statement further said security personnel have been deployed to the area to forestall any further breakdown of law and order.

“So far normalcy has been restored to the general area of Mangu Local Government, while monitoring continues,” SP Alabo added.