President Bola Tinubu has dispatched a peace emissary, Dr Abiodun Essiet, to Plateau as part of renewed efforts to restore calm and strengthen inter-communal harmony in the troubled state.
Essiet, who is the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (North Central), undertook a two-day mission last Thursday, meeting separately with Christian clerics and Fulani Miyetti Allah leaders before convening a town hall meeting in Jos.
Delegates from various local government areas, traditional rulers, women groups and youth leaders attended the forum, which focused on rebuilding community-based peace structures and promoting coexistence.
In Barkin Ladi, Essiet paid a courtesy visit to Reverend Ezekiel Dachomo, Chairman of the Regional Church Council (RCC), where discussions centred on the role of faith leaders in advancing peace, unity and social development. She also met widows and conveyed President Tinubu’s message of reconciliation.
Dachomo has long been one of the strongest voices of the Christian community in the state. Essiet later held talks with Fulani leaders in Barkin Ladi aimed at deepening dialogue and understanding between pastoral and farming communities, reaffirming the Federal Government’s commitment to inclusive engagement. She also conducted a workshop on strengthening community peace structures across the state’s 17 local government areas.
In Jos, Essiet met separately with representatives of the Irigwe community, Miyetti Allah and the Bassa Local Government Youth Council, focusing on sustaining peace and the work of a 17-member peace committee dedicated to promoting dialogue and reconciliation between the two communities.
She reiterated President Tinubu’s commitment to peace and inclusive governance, stressing that community-based peace mechanisms remain central to ensuring long-term stability in the North Central region.
A quick win from the engagements was the resolution of a long-running dispute between David Toma, owner of Agha Farm in Gyel District of Jos South, and some herdsmen.
After Toma seized two cows for destroying his crops, the Chairman of MACBAN in Bassa LGA, Isah Yau, paid N500,000 compensation on November 15, leading to the release of the cows. All parties signed an undertaking to maintain peace.
THIS is even as operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested a suspected arms dealer alleged to be behind the supply of weapons used in deadly attacks across Plateau and parts of Northern Nigeria.
In a statement yesterday, the agency said the suspect, identified as Musa Abubakar, was arrested on November 12 after intelligence traced him to an arms-making workshop in the Mista Ali area of Bassa Local Council.
According to officials, the raid uncovered components of improvised explosive devices, chemicals and equipment believed to have been used for manufacturing high-calibre weapons.
“The suspect confessed to having manufactured and distributed weapons and ammunition to armed groups involved in violent attacks in Plateau and neighbouring states,” the DSS said.
The service described the operation as a “high-target” breakthrough that disrupted a key supply line feeding armed groups responsible for recurring violence in the region.
The operation came just days after the DSS recaptured Abdulazeez Obadaki, popularly known as Bomboy, a Kuje prison escapee accused of taking part in the Owo and Deeper Life Church attacks.
It also followed the recent arrest of nine other suspects, including 46-year-old Timna Manjol, as the agency intensifies efforts to dismantle violent criminal networks in the North. Officials say investigations are continuing, with more arrests expected as the crackdown widens.
