August 15, (THEWILL) – The Plateau State Government has imposed curfew on Bassa, Jos North and Jos South Local Government Areas, following Saturday’s attacks on commuters around Jos North Local Government Area.
In a statement signed by his Director of Press, Dr. Simon Macham, the Governor warned troublemakers fomenting trouble in the state to desist as the government will not allow any form of lawlessness to disrupt the peace of the state.
Lalong said that attacks on innocent citizens no matter their backgrounds will never be tolerated in the state, adding that those who are found to be behind such attacks will be dealt with decisively to serve as deterrence and restore public order.
He said: ”I have directed the imposition of curfew on Jos North, Bassa and Jos South Local Government Areas, commencing 6 pm to 6 am, from today, 14th August 2021.
“The curfew shall remain in place, subject to further review by the State Security Council.”
The Governor warned against violation of the order, saying that security personnel would take all measures to maintain law and order in the affected areas.
He said the state government would continue to monitor the situation and take further action if necessary, to ensure the safety of lives and property.
Lalong also called for calm and appealled to residents to avoid any action or utterances that would further inflame the situation, saying security agencies are conducting investigations on the attack.
“So far, 20 suspects have been arrested and the security agencies are conducting investigations to get to the bottom of the matter”, he assured.
The Governor commended security agencies for their immediate response leading to the arrest of some suspects and the restoration of calm to the area.
He sympathised with the families of those who lost their loved ones, and those injured as a result of the unfortunate incident.
THEWILL reports that a group of rampaging youths had attacked a convoy of five buses on Rukuba Road in the Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State on Saturday.
Reports say, the Irigwe youths were conveying the remains of their members killed in a recent attack for burial in Bassa on Saturday morning.
They had set out in a convoy for the burial as announced when violence broke out along the way at Rukuba road.
Source said: “As they were conveying the corpses, they met some vans conveying some Muslims they suspected to be Fulani along their way.
“The Muslims claimed they were commuters from Bauchi, but the angry youths challenged them, insisting that the Rukuba road does not connect with Bauchi highway.
“They suspected that the Fulani were planning to attack them at the burial ground.
“The Irigwe youths allegedly attacked the commuters, injured some and killed others before the security agents could reach the spot. The violence had escalated before it was arrested by the soldiers.”
The spokesperson for the Plateau State Police Command, Ubah Ogaba, had in a statement confirming the incident said: “On 14/08/2021 at about 0928hrs, the Plateau State Police Command received a distress call that a group of attackers and their sympathisers along Rukuba Road of Jos North Local Government Area attacked a convoy of five buses returning from the annual Zikr prayer in Bauchi State and heading for Ikare in Ondo State.
“Unfortunately, 22 persons were killed and 14 injured in the attack.”
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has directed security agencies to fish out the killers of the 22 travellers.
Buhari, in a statement issued on Saturday night by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, declared that Plateau State has been one of the states affected by herder-farmer clashes, which have, in a significant way, been curtailed following the intense peace-building efforts of the administration of Governor Simon Lalong.
He said: “However, to be clear, this is not an agriculturalist-on-pastoralist confrontation –but rather a direct, brazen and wickedly motivated attack on members of a community exercising their rights to travel freely and to follow the faith of their choosing.
“With the evident preparedness of their attackers, it is clear this was a well-conceived and pre-arranged assault on a known target, location and religious persuasion of the travellers; not an opportunist ambush.
“The Presidency offers condolences to the families of the victims and continues to liaise closely with the local authorities –including security, the police, and governmental agencies.”
According to Buhari, these kinds of attacks on Nigerians are unacceptable, heinous, and stand in complete contradiction to the teachings of the great religions of the nation.
The statement said: “Make no mistake about it: in line with my commitment to protect all Nigerians, I have ordered our security agencies to fish out the perpetrators of this gruesome massacre of innocent travellers and bring them to justice.”
The Presidency has also commended the ongoing efforts by the governors of Plateau, Bauchi, and Ondo states; the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Sa’ad Abubakar III; and Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi as well as a number of notable Christian and Muslim leaders as they intensified efforts to calm down the situation.
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