Once regarded as the ‘home of peace and tourism,’ Plateau State in Nigeria’s Northcentral has degenerated into a killing field of sorts. Security of lives and property is no longer guaranteed, as blood-cuddling tales of killings of innocent and hapless residents by suspected bandits and ethnic militia abound. The situation has kept the state government and security agencies on their toes in a bid to fish out the perpetrators. KOLADE ADEYEMI reports
The unscheduled visit of the Plateau State Governor, Barr Caleb Mutfwang, to the Chief of Defense Staff, Maj. Gen. Christopher Musa, and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Maj. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, this week, in Abuja, showed that all is not well in the state.
Barely a week after that, the casualty figure rose to 346. And at the last count, over 20,000 survivors are said to have been displaced and taking refuge in camps across the state. The number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps, too has grown to 14 at the time of compiling this report.
A human rights organization known as Gideon and Funmi Para-Mallam Peace Foundation, which dished out the figures, said they were recorded within the last three months of mayhem (April-July) across the eight Local Government Areas in Plateau State.
Source : Nations Newspaper
