Plateau Killings: Lalong Orders Immediate Arrest, Prosecution of Criminals

Seriki Adinoyi

The Plateau State Government has ordered the immediate arrest and prosecution of the criminal elements involved in the killings of innocent people in Bassa and Bokkos Local Government Areas of the state, warning that it would not condone the activities of hoodlums who take advantage of conflicts among citizens to perpetrate killings and destruction of property in the name of ethnic crisis.

In a statement signed by the state Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mr. Yakubu Dati, the state Governor, Simon Lalong, gave a marching order to all security agents to spare no efforts at ensuring that all the culprits are brought to book to serve as deterrent to other criminals.

The governor, who also spoke on NTA network programme on Saturday night, reiterated that he was not going to rest until the state is made safe and secured for every life in the state.

He warned that the state would not fold its arms and watch the enemies of Plateau take it back to the dark old days when citizens distrusted one another, adding that “we must emphasise on the great values that unite us as a people.”

Dati added: “Governor Lalong believes that our differences are better resolved by sitting together to address them rather than taking arms against one another.”

He promised that aside from other logistic supports from the state, 40 patrol vehicles had been purchased to support the police and other security agents carry out their duties, and would be launched by the Inspector General of Police (IG) soon.

While condoling with the families who lost their loved ones in the attacks, the governor promised that urgent steps are being taken in collaboration with the security agents to get to the roots of the problem, and to avoid a repeat of the ugly incident.

The statement also urged citizens not to take the laws in their hands but to be vigilant and report the activities of the criminals to the security agents for proactive actions.