Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has expressed condolences to the government and people of Plateau State over the killings in in Bokkos, Mangu and Barkin-Ladi local government areas on Christmas Eve.
Dogara who paid a visit to Governor Caleb Mutfwang in Jos yesterday described Plateau people as peaceful, accommodating and hospitable, and do not deserve the dehumanising and unholy acts inflicted on them.
He called for a holistic approach by all citizens across all faiths to halt banditry, terrorism and criminal activities in all parts of the country.
He said it was time for the nation to rise collectively and stop the bloodshed, warning that if the perpetrators go scot-free in Plateau, such gruesome acts can also take place in any part of the country.
Governor Mutfwang thanked him for the visit and said the true narrative of the killings in Plateau was not farmer-herder clashes but banditry and terrorism which must be addressed in that context holistically.
He praised the willingness and the desire of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to end the carnage, saying the president had shown the political will in tackling the issues.
“With all boldness, I want to say that I see a desire for a shift with the current president. I see a desire to change the narrative, a desire to rewrite the story and get things right. I have interacted with him a couple of times and I see him carrying a burden to see how this issue will end,” the governor said.
He reiterated the commitment of his administration to work with the federal government to bring to an end the carnage and decades of attacks that have claimed several lives in Plateau State.
He also commiserated with the former speaker on the death of his mother, and prayed God to grant him the fortitude to bear the loss.
