The apex northern sociocultural group, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has expressed extreme sadness over what it called disheartening and frightening attacks by terror gangs on defenceless communities in Plateau State which resulted to the tragic deaths of scores of people including children.
ACF noted that the 28th March Plateau killings have added to dismal statistics of deaths, injuries and property damage due to rampaging terror activities of bandits on communities over the last few years.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Professor Tukur Muhammad-Baba, the ACF deeply mourns the dead, unequivocally condemns the attacks and called on the federal government to stop the killings in Nigeria.
“The Forum particularly extends sympathy and condolence to the affected communities, the Government and people of Plateau State. The Forum identifies with the deep pains of families of the victims, prays to God to grant the deceased eternal rest, for surviving victims to be fortified with strength to bear the losses and for quick return to full health for all who suffered injuries,” the ACF said.
It drew the attention on the federal government as one that is constitutionally responsible for the protection of lives and properties of citizens, “to the deterioration in the state of security in Arewa communities and elsewhere in Nigeria.”
ACF reiterated its long-standing stance that such experiences were too many, adding that the people are clearly in great pains, with their situation compounded by existential economic challenges.
“The killing spree on the Plateau must be stopped immediately and peace must return to the State,” it stated.
Proffering solutions to curb the killings, the ACF further called on the federal government to declare a state of security emergency on vulnerable and banditry-prone communities and initiate effective early-warning and early-response strategies that incorporate the participation of community members.
“Intensify efforts in actionable intelligence gathering, processing and deployment by relevant all security agencies so as to establish the immediate and remote causes of the latest skirmishes, investigate, identify, arrest and prosecute perpetrators and enablers of the attacks,” the body said.
It further urged the federal government to fully compensate families for the lives lost and extend relief to those injured.
ACF also called on federal government and Plateau State Government to empower community leaders, elders, clergy, traditional leaders, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to embark on community dialogue for conflict resolution, reconciliation and cooperation.
“All must intensify conflict resolution efforts and citizens should avail the security agencies with credible information on the activities of insurgents and criminals; and members of the National Assembly to do more to hold the Federal Government and the National Security Agencies to account and to demand concrete evidence of a firm resolve to exterminate the current terror on citizens,” the statement stressed.
While, reiterating unalloyed support for the federal and the Plateau State governments as well as all National Security agencies in the fight against insecurity in Nigeria, ACF calls on all to scale up the fight against threats to the wellbeing of all Nigerian citizens.
