• HURIWA restates call for self-defence
Amnesty International has dismissed President Bola Tinubu’s repeated directives to security agencies to end killings in Plateau and other states as “useless” in the face of the escalating insecurity in the country.
The global human rights organisation criticised the Nigerian government over its handling of the worsening security crisis in Plateau State, saying the Tinubu-led government is ineffective in curbing the violence in the country.
In a statement yesterday on its verified X (formerly Twitter) account, the global agency condemned the recent massacre in Bindi-Jebbu, a community in the Tahoss district of Riyom Local Council of Plateau State, where no fewer than 27 people were killed on Monday.
“Amnesty International strongly condemns the horrific attack on Bindi-Jebbu of the Tahoss community in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State in which at least 27 people were killed on Monday.
“Entire families were locked up in their rooms and slaughtered one by one. Those who tried to escape were shot,” the statement read, decrying the brutality of the attack.
IN the meantime, Governor Caleb Mutfwang has visited the scene of the genocidal attack. A statement yesterday by the Director of Press and Public Affairs to the Governor, Dr. Gyang Bere, said addressing the traumatised residents, Mutfwang condemned the killings in strong terms, and assured the people that his administration would not abandon them in their time of grief.
He pledged a comprehensive review of the state’s security architecture to ensure those charged with the protection of lives and property discharge their responsibilities without compromise.
“Let me promise you, by the grace of God, Riyom will not fall. We will deploy every resource at our disposal to end this genocide. This is not a case of farmer-herder conflict. This is terrorism; this is genocide, plain and simple. And I assure you, we will escalate this matter to the highest levels,” the governor pledged.
Speaking during the visit, Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Riyom Council, Rev. Davou Musa, blamed the military for failing in its duty to protect the people.
He accused some personnel of complicity by shielding the attackers, and called on the Federal Government to withdraw the military from the area, and appealed for urgent humanitarian relief to support the survivors.
ALSO, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has restated its call for self-defence by locals against the marauding attackers.
It said President Bola Tinubu should see the incessant onslaughts as a direct affront to his competency and capacity to protect the citizens. While advocating clinical security and intelligence-led operations to effectively put an end to the offensives, HURIWA demanded that if the organised government-funded security agencies have consistently failed to protect the people, then the vigilantes, recently set up by Plateau State, should be sufficiently trained, equipped and motivated to counter terrorists disguising themselves as herders to destabilise the land.
HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said: “Ensuring that lives and property of the good people of Plateau State are safeguarded from the violent attacks of armed non-state actors is the primary constitutional duty of government and this duty to protect and prevent these attacks lies with the office of the President and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu.”
