Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru and his counterpart from the Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction Ministry, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, yesterday visited communities that were recently attacked by gunmen in Bassa local government area of Plateau State.
Gunmen last week attacked Zike community of Kwall District of Irigwe Chiefdom in Bassa and killed over 50 persons.
Badaru commiserated with the families of those who lost loved ones and expressed the federal government’s commitment to ensuring the safety of lives and property.
“We are here on behalf of the federal government to identify and share in your grief. We want to assure you that security agencies will bring these senseless killings to an end.
I have been adequately briefed, and I want to assure you that we will get to the root of this matter. We will capture the perpetrators of this evil act.
“The president is deeply concerned and has ordered us to find the perpetrators so they can face justice. We are working with the state government to adopt the structure that will prevent this ugly incident from happening again; it is time to end this madness,” he said.
The minister said government would engage all stakeholders in the affected communities in curbing the cycle of killings in the state.
Prof. Nentawe told newsmen that President Bola Tinubu was deeply concerned about the carnage.
He said, “The president has spoken with me. He asked what more he could do for Plateau and made it clear that we must work together to restore peace. He has promised to support us kinetically by deploying all necessary security forces to ensure safety. According to him, the people too, have a role to play, and they must engage one another and talk across communities and faiths.”
Earlier, the Brra Ngwe of Irigwe Chiefdom, Rev. Ranka Aku, thanked the ministers for the visit and also commended the federal and state governments for prompt response to the incident.
Aku, who decried incessant attacks and destruction of properties in the chiefdom, called on government and security agencies to intensify efforts to end the violence.
He promised to collaborate with the government to bring lasting peace to the chiefdom and Plateau in general. The traditional ruler called on the government to support the victims in order to rebuild their destroyed buildings.
Meanwhile, gunmen were yesterday said to have opened fire on grazing cattle in Tanjol community, Riyom local government area of the state, leaving two herders and cattle with injuries.
It came just hours after the ministers’ visit.
The state chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) Ibrahim Babayo, said the herders were attacked while grazing their cattle.
But the national president of Berom Youths, Barr. Dalyop Nwantiri, said the gunmen hid in the midst of their cattle to attack innocent citizens.
“What they usually do is to hide among the cattle with sophisticated weapons to attack villages and communities. Sometimes if the villagers want to defend themselves they run into the cattle to use them as shields,” he said.
He added; “It is possible that they were the ones that shot themselves and their cattle in the process so that they can justify the terror attacks on innocent citizens.”
According to Nwantiri, three days ago herdsmen killed four persons in Tanjol community but nobody reacted.
The MACBAN chairman said while the herders were grazing the animals, the gunmen stormed the area and started shooting sporadically. “They injured two herders, Adam Abdullahi and Bilyaminu Alhassan. We have reported the incident to the GOC 3 Division, DSS and sector commander in Riyom LGA . The sector commander has visited the scene of the incident. Two sheep and a cow died instantly while four cows were injured. They are likely not to survive. The security agencies promised to investigate the matter and ensure justice for the victims. They also warned us against taking the law into our hands,” the chairman added.
Spokesman of Operation Safe Haven, Major Samson Zhakom, did not respond to inquiries about the incident at the time of filing this report.
