* Don’t allow terrorists kill all Nigerians, CAN cries out to UN
* One killed, houses burnt as attacks persist
Seriki Adinoyi in Jos
Following the gruesome murder of 15 villagers and destruction of properties in Kwatas village of Bokkos Local Government Council in Plateau State on Sunday night, the state Governor, Mr. Simon Lalong has handed over Fulani leaders and village heads of the affected community to the Police for questioning.
Also, following the resurgence of abductions and killings across the country by terrorists and the seeming inability of the government to stem the tides, the Plateau State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), yesterday called on the United Nations to urgently intervene in the situation and stop the insurgents from killing all Nigerians.
This is coming as gunmen have continued their deadly attacks in the Bokos Local Government Area of the state, killing a man and setting many buildings ablaze.
Lalong had summoned stakeholders’ meeting, which had in attendance heads of security agencies, traditional rulers, community leaders and leaders of the Fulani in the community at the Government House, Jos where he insisted that the perpetrators of the crime must be fished out immediately.
He expressed anger over the incident, which he said would not be allowed to degenerate further and make nonsense of the efforts made to restore peace to the state, insisting that nobody is above the government.
“How can people be killed and there is no arrest; are those killing others spirits? I don’t think you can kill 15 human beings and claim you are a spirit and there is not arrest.
“Commissioner of Police, you should take the community leaders and the Ardos (Fulani Leaders) with you so that they can tell you those behind these killings. By the time you go to cell, you will bring out those people that are doing it. If you want to give evidence, give it to the Commissioner of Police. We are not afraid of criminals.
“Some community leaders and Ardos have done their best, but within us, there are criminals. We must expose them, no matter how high. If you are one of them, you better take yourself to the police station. The Army is here. Police, Civil Defence, DSS, and Operation Rainbow, all are here. I want those people today. They should not sleep in their houses. By the time they are arrested, we will solve this problem”, the Lalong raged.
The Commissioner of Police in Plateau State, Mr. Isaac Akimoyede earlier briefed the governor on the crises and the efforts to contain it, explaining that he had held a meeting with the community leaders last Saturday based on intelligence where he warned against any breach of the peace.
Meanwhile, the sstate chapter of CAN yesterday called on the United Nations to urgently intervene in the situation and stop the insurgents from killing all Nigerians.
Chairman of the Youth Wing of CAN in the state, Mr. Marcus Kanda made the appeal while addressing journalists in Jos, shortly after he led a delegation on a condolence visit to the family house of the late Mr. Daciya Dalep, a 200- level student of the University of Maiduguri who was executed by Boko Haram insurgents last week.
Kanda said, “As a nation, for how long will we continue to lose Nigerians from all walks of life, who are adding value to the nation, to the hands of those who believe that the only value Nigerians deserve is destruction, mayhem, and trauma?
“For how long will we sacrifice the future of our nation to a group, whose belief is that no one deserves a peaceful life because they have not subscribed to their lifestyle of mayhem and carnage?
“For how long will we allow a group that believes no one has any right to hold onto other religious believes if not theirs? For how long will we keep spending hundreds of billions of tax payers’ money, not only in fighting this group but also in providing relief to victims of their mayhem and rehabilitation of lives and communities they have destroyed?
“We call on the United Nations and other members of the International Community to, as a matter of urgency, come to the aid of the Nigerian people especially the primary targets of these terror attacks, who are Christians.”
In a related development, gunmen have continued their deadly attacks in the Bokos Local Government Area of Plateau State, killing a man and setting many buildings ablaze.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the gunmen had descended on Ruboi and Marish communities in Bokos Local Government, killing at least 16 people late on Sunday.
NAN learnt that the latest onslaught took place early on Monday while residents of the two communities were still in bed.
The Public Relations Officer of the Plateau State Police Command, ASP Abuh Gabriel, confirmed the development, saying that a man was killed in the latest attack.
Gabriel said, however, that security men had been deployed to the two communities and that calm had been restored.
