PFN urges FG to stop escalation Stakeholders seek lasting solution
Seriki Adinoyi in Jos and Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan
At least three students of the University of Jos have been feared killed, while two others were declared missing on Sunday following escalation of Saturday attacks on commuters at Rukuba road in Jos.
THISDAY also gathered that five other students were receiving treatments in various hospitals in Jos following injuries they sustained during attacks on them.
The Chairman, Joint Campus Committee (JCC) of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), UNIJOS chapter, Comrade Jeremiah Matthew, Dalong disclosed this in Jos while speaking with journalists.
This is as the President, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Francis Wale Oke, Tuesday, called on the federal government to take preemptive measures to forestall another crisis the recent Jos killing is capable of engendering.
Meanwhile, Mathew has said the students locked in the hostels were starving as they could not go out to buy food, because of the 24-hour curfew imposed on Jos, calling on Plateau State, federal governments and the management of the university to as a matter of urgency send food to the stranded students in the hostels or arrange to evacuate them to go and met their parents.
He said two of the students were declared missing, because they have not been seen since the crisis broke out, and no one was sure of their whereabouts.
“The food vendors too have disappeared. Even if you have money, there is nowhere you can see food to buy. The few vendors that manage to find their ways to the hostels sell at exorbitant prices, beyond what the students can afford.”
Also, Oke in a statement by his Media Office, while condemning the incident that led to the loss of lives of many travelers, urged that a halt should be put to bloodshed in the country.
Oke, who is the Presiding Bishop of the Sword of the Spirit Ministries, Ibadan, bemoaned that the gruesome killings of those involved was the height of inhumanity and ungodliness.
“Nobody has the right to kill or take the life of his fellow human being. Before God, our creator, life is sacrosanct. He frowns at bloodshed in whatever disguise,” the PFN President said.
While urging the government to bring the arms of the law to bear on the matter, he equally implored the authorities to swing into action with a view to preventing some individuals, who might want to latch on to the situation to cause another round of mayhem.
“This won’t do anyone any good in the land. We have enough to contend with in the country than further plunging the nation in needless and avoidable problems,” Wale Oke advised.
Following persisted violent attacks in Jos, Plateau State in recent times, Simon Lalong convened stakeholders meeting to find a lasting solution.
The meeting which lasted into last night resolved to prosecute culprits and compensate victims of the crisis.
The meeting, which was attended by former Governor of the state, Jonah Jang, religious and traditional leaders, and National Assembly members also resolved to strengthen community policing structures for intelligence gathering and early warning pending the approval of State Policing.
While charging more involvement of traditional rulers in governance, the stakeholders pledged continuous dialogue and engagement among various communities and conflict groups through the facilitation of the Peace Building Agency and the State Inter-religious Council.
The meeting acknowledged the roles played by President Mohammadu Buhari, Governors of Ondo and Bauchi states, Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, CAN, JNI religious and community leaders and security agencies in calming the situation and preventing it from escalating.
It decried indiscriminate granting of bail to persons suspected in attacks as well as the politicization of crimes, warning also that decisive action will be taken against religious, community and traditional leaders preaching hate or inciting people to violence.
Earlier, Lalong had charged the stakeholders to brainstorm honestly and come up with valuable suggestions as to what can be done to end the cycle of violence in the state.
