Ads
HomeNewsPlateau Killings Similar To Rwandan Genocide, Say North-Central Govs

Plateau Killings Similar To Rwandan Genocide, Say North-Central Govs

Ads

Governors of Nigeria’s six North-Central states have submitted that the Christmas Eve killing of hundreds in Plateau State should not be tagged herder-farmer clashes.

Over 180 people, mostly women and children, were killed in the attack by suspected Fulani terrorists between the night of December 24 and the dawn of December 25.

Chairman of the North Central Governors Forum (NGGF) and Governor of Nassarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, who spoke when he led a sympathy visit to the place, said that Plateau State was being subjected to the same genocide that happened in Rwanda in 1994, when over 800,000 members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group were slaughtered.

Ads

The NCGF Chairman, was speaking on Tuesday, when he led his colleagues on a condolence visit to the Governor of Plateau State, Caleb Mutfwang, in Jos.

On the visit, they donated N100 million to victims of the Christmas Eve attack.

Abdullahi Sule was accompanied by the governors of Niger and Benue states, Mohammed Bago and Rev Father Hyancinth Alia.

Speaking on behalf of the governors, Sule lamented the attacks and killings in Plateau State by gunmen, while calling on the Nigerian government to do everything possible to get to its roots and find a permanent solution.

He explained that the attacks in Plateau had persisted for too long, and time had come for the Federal Government to get to the roots of the problem and a find lasting solution.

He said, “We have seen a similar situation in Rwanda because I won’t call what is happening in Plateau farmer-herder crisis. It’s not. We have seen what happened in Rwanda and luckily, all four of us governors were there and we listened to the President of Rwanda when he told us about the courage that he took to actually invite everybody that is involved and look at the root causes.

“We cannot allow a few people for selfish reasons to come in and destroy all of us. This is not about Fulani. It is about criminals and we are asking the Federal Government to assist us and deal with the problem.

“When we were coming, we talked about the peace that we have always enjoyed on the Plateau; the love that has always been there, the period that some of us would walk from Dilimi, Rex, Kwararafa, the New Era and back to Kasua Dareng.Those loving periods that all the people in Plateau used to enjoy; what has happened?

“Your Excellency, we came all the way to ask you to take the courage to find out the root cause of this matter because we can’t continue to live like this.

“We are here to share with you whatever situation you find yourself in. I was here on a similar sad note, together with our delegation from Nasarawa State when it happened during the period of your predecessor. And during the period we asked specifically for the religious leaders to be the ones in the majority because we wanted to talk directly with our religious leaders, to talk to them about the need to continue to preach peace to our people.”

Mutfwang thanked the governors for their concern over the situation in Plateau, noting that the people of the state were desirous of unity and progress.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Ads

Must Read

Ads