Plateau Govt Pledges To End Attacks On Rural Communities

The Plateau State Government has donated relief materials worth millions of naira to victims of attacks in some communities of Bokkos Local Government Area of the state.

LEADERSHIP reports that about five communities in Bokkos Local Government Council of the state were attacked by gunmen last week Wednesday, leading to the death of several people.

Arch Samuel Jatau, Secretary to the State Government, led a Sunday delegation of top government officials to the affected communities.

Jatau, who described the attacks as well-coordinated, said that the Mutfwang administration, in collaboration with the federal government and the security agencies, had taken steps to forestall future occurrences.

The SGS also assured the people that the state government would do everything possible to ensure the safety of lives and property in all parts of the state.

He explained that the items donated to the victims were a token of support from the state government to cushion the immediate hardship that the victims were experiencing.

“We are here to see things for ourselves and ascertain the level of damages done by the attackers.

“It is unfortunate that in this era, people could attack, kill innocent citizens and destroy their properties without thinking twice.

“We have seen things for ourselves and will report back to the governor; we want to assure the people that they are not alone.

“We are here with some relief materials to cushion the immediate hardship that the people are currently passing through, pending a more lasting solution.

According to him, they have also come alongside the medical team to attend to the victims’ medical needs and relief items.

Jatau, however, seized the opportunity and called on the state’s residents to be vigilant and support the state government’s efforts to ensure peace and tranquillity in all parts of the state.

Mr Alo Raymond, District Head of Manguna, who received the items on behalf of the victims, thanked the state government and the security agencies for responding swiftly.

He particularly commended Gov Caleb Mutfwang for the various initiatives to ensure the state’s safety of lives and property.

Raymond, who promised to distribute the relief materials to the affected victims judiciously, however, called for deploying more security personnel to communities in his domain.

“As the rainy season sets in, we call on the government at all levels to deploy more security to our communities to enable our people to go to their farms without fear of intimidation.

“We are grateful to the state government for coming to our aid; these items will go a long way to provide succour to our people who are affected by the recent attacks,” he said

Earlier, the Village Head of Hurti, one of the attacked communities, said that the attackers killed many persons, destroyed more than 380 houses and displaced about 1,000 persons.

He also said that the criminal elements looted foodstuff and destroyed other farming tools worth millions.

Some government officials who accompanied the SGS to the affected communities were Mr Titus Alams and Mr Istifanus Mwansat, special advisers to the governor on labour matters and special duties.

Others were the Commissioner for Budget and Planning, the Commissioner for Health, and the Chairman of Bokkos LGA.

Items donated to the displaced include mattresses, sleeping mats, buckets, bags of rice, beans, and maise.

Other items are blankets, cartons of washing and bathing soaps, noodles, spaghetti and many others.