- Plateau Varsity Students, Residents Protest Killing Of Colleague, Authorities Declare 2-Day Mourning Period
- People Are Killed While Sleeping, Security Agencies Must Rise Up To Occasion- Plateau Government
- Insecurity Has Made Nigeria A Laughing Stock Globally, TY Danjuma Laments
The recent killings of no fewer than 18 people in the Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State has drawn outrage from Nigerians.
The Matrix reports that the gunmen attacked the Tilengpan community in Mangu Local Government area of the state, killing 12 people, with an additional six persons murdered in four Bokkos communities, including a university student on Thursday night.
Confirming the incident, the Chairman of Mangu local government area, Monday Kassam, said the gunmen launched deadly attacks on four communities.
Kassam said the gunmen invaded the communities, including the off-campus hostel of the Students of Plateau State University, shooting sporadically into the air to announce their arrival.
A statement by the chairman reads: “The following morning, the students came out in their large numbers; they were demonstrating when one of them was shot again based on the information I heard from the eyewitness account.
“And the militias, not satisfied, had to come in again this morning despite the presence of security. They were given a chase but I don’t know the number of casualties but as of yesterday six persons were reported dead.”
This dastardly act has drawn the condemnation of the Plateau State Government.
According to the Plateau State Commissioner for Information and Communication Musa Ashoms, the killing which prompted protests by students, was saddening.
“People just in their sleep lose their lives. So, we are using this opportunity to call on security agencies,” he said.
“They have done really well but we are urging them to redouble their steps to do more in the area of arresting and prosecuting the perpetrators of this evil because we would be going back and forth if we do not have any arrests after all these attacks.”
“So, as a government, we frown against this act, and like I said, the government and people of Plateau State are sad with this happening,” the commissioner added.
Consequently, the students of Plateau State University in Bokkos went on a protest following the death of the 200-level Computer Science student of the institution who was residing in Chikam.
But it took the intervention of security operatives to stop the protest.
In the aftermath of the attack, the school’s management declared a two-day mourning and suspended all examinations scheduled for the period.
Meanwhile, former Minister of Defence, Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (Rtd), has declared that Nigeria is a war front, and an embarrassment to the world.
He then appealed to Nigerians to be their brother’s keeper and cease killing one another, to attract foreign investors from across the world.
Gen. Danjuma, who spoke Friday at the opening ceremony of the Nwonyo International Fishing and Cultural Festival in Ibi local government area of Taraba state, said Nigeria has devolved into a war zone where citizens are killing each other.
According to him, “There is no sane foreign person that will come to our country to celebrate with us if we continue to kill each other and make our roads unsafe for people to move around.
“As we are today as Nigeria, we are a disgrace to the whole world. The country is a war front where our people are against our own people.
“We must put our house in order because right now we are a laughing stock to the whole world.
“We must stop killing each other. We must make our roads safe. We must stop kidnappings.
“If we are expecting this festival to be truly international, we must have peace in our state and throughout the country.”
He further said the festival serves not only as a platform to showcase Jukun cultural values but also as a convergence point for diverse communities.
