BY SEGUN ADEBAYO, ABUJA – The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) says Federal Government’s failure to curtail the continuous wanton spilling of blood on the Plateau remains a major dent on the Nigerian nation.
According to the Union, it is regrettable that the government seems handicapped in checking unruly and criminal activities that have turned Plateau State into a killing field with many lives and property lost to dastardly acts of some criminal elements.
In a statement by its National Secretary, Shuaibu Usman Leman, the Walin Shadalafiya, the NUJ expressed concerns that the “Federal Government appears either unwilling or incapable of protecting its citizens.”
The Union therefore insisted that the government must quickly review the Plateau security situation and evolve more pragmatic measures to not only check the incessant killings but also restore lasting peace before things get out of control in the State.
Below is the full text of the NUJ Statement
The Plateau Conundrum
The Nigeria Union of Journalists regrets the inability of Government to curtail the continuous wanton spilling of blood on the Plateau. For more than a decade now, Plateau state has remained the killing fields of Central Nigeria with thousands of lives and property lost to one form of violence or the other.
This ugly development remains alarming as the security intervention on the Plateau appears incapable of delivering the much-anticipated respite. And for how long will these repeated bloodlettings continue?
We are concerned with the recent night attack by suspected herdsmen on Sunday, October 15, 2017 in Taagbe Village in Bassa Local Government of the State in which the Police confirmed the killing of six people and several others injured. This was in spite of a curfew imposed on the Local Government by the State Government as part of measures to curtail such attacks on villagers.
We are afraid that the Federal Government appears either unwilling or incapable of protecting its citizens. It is therefore important for the Federal Government to quickly reappraise the security situation on the Plateau with a view to coming out with more pragmatic measures to check these incessant killings and restore lasting peace before the situation spirals out of control.
Shuaibu Usman Leman
Walin Shadalafiya
National Secretary
