Kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector-General of Police, visited Plateau State on Friday after gunmen attacked 25 towns on Christmas Eve, killing over 150 people.
The visit, however, did little to reassure inhabitants of the affected and neighboring communities, who had fled the locations in fear of future attacks.
The IG, who expressed astonishment at the deaths, announced the launch of a special operation to stem the wave of attacks and killings in the state.
Egbetokun, who paid a visit to Governor Caleb Mutfwang in Jos, also revealed that the Assistant Inspector-General of Police Zone 4, Haladu Musa, had been asked to temporarily shift his office to Plateau State in order to ensure a successful operation.
He said,
“We have commenced a special operation in this state, and I have directed the DIG in charge of Zone 4 to relocate to Plateau.
“We are committed to ending this circle of violence in Plateau, and we call on communities not to be collaborators in this evil act.
“Citizens should rather cooperate with the police and other security agencies so that we can deal with these criminals once and for all.
“President Bola Tinubu has ordered that the perpetrators of this heinous act be fished out and face the full wrath of the law. I commiserate with the people of Plateau and assure you of the full support of the police in tackling this menace.
“The President has also directed the police to work closely with the military to solve problems in the communities. I appeal to the people of Plateau to join in the fight against these criminal acts and not against a particular tribe or religion.
“Plateau citizens should cooperate with security personnel; criminals have declared war on citizens so we need to join forces to fight the war against criminals. This war should not be seen as a war against a particular tribe, but against criminals.”
The governor commended the IG and his men for their efforts in tackling insecurity but called for improved intelligence sharing among security agencies.
Mutfwang said,
“Nigerians trust you and expect so much from you to change the narrative of policing in the country. We are happy to receive you and your team; the last couple of days have been very traumatic.
“In the pursuit of criminals, some overzealous security agents turn victims into suspects. This could be very traumatising to communities. If we share intelligence adequately, it will help the situation.
“This is not about ethnic profiling; let’s demonstrate to Nigerians that this monster can be tamed and don’t just go after the perpetrators, their sponsors too should be unmasked to bring the problems to a closure.”
The IG later visited the Gbong Gwom Jos, Da Jacob Buba, and proceeded to Bokkos to meet with the survivors of the attacks.
Residents flee communities
There was tension in the Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State on Friday over rumours of another attack by suspected assailants.
It was learnt that following the rumour, many residents of Bokkos town fled the area to Jos and other communities they considered safe.
It was further gathered that following the mass exodus of people, transport operators took advantage of the situation to hike the fare from N1,500 to N3,000.
Helicopters were seen hovering over Bokkos town and surrounding villages, which suffered devastating attacks from terrorists.
The Chairman of the Community Peace Observers in the Bokkos Local Government Area, Kefas Mallai, who confirmed the situation to news men in Jos on Friday said,
“We are still living in fear. Many of the people from the communities in Bokkos that were attacked have moved out of those places. Even now, people are moving out of Bokkos town because, after the visit of Vice-President Kashim Shettima and other top military officers as well as the Inspector-General of Police, there has been a rumour that Bokkos town will be attacked before New Year’s Eve and a good proportion of the population – residents and IDPs, farmers and herders – are packing out with their families out of Bokkos LGA.
“There’s a rumour that Bokkos town, where thousands of IDPs settled for the meantime, will be attacked heavily in one of the nights before the New Year.
“One of the farmers, who is also an IDP, told me that a herder met her and gave her the warning early on Thursday. The same rumour is making the rounds in the IDP camps that farmers were planning to attack them.
“The rumour has forced many IDPs from both sides and other residents to move to other places outside Bokkos LGA. As I’m talking to you, because of the rumour, transport fare from Bokkos to Jos has now increased from the regular N1,500 to between N3,000 and N4,000 as drivers complain that they only take passengers to Jos and come back empty as people are scared of coming to Bokkos.
“In light of the above, Bokkos town needs proper security cover, especially between now and the New Year’s Day.”
PDP criticises Tinubu
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party has slammed President Bola Tinubu for not visiting the scene of the Christmas Eve killings by gunmen in Bokkos and Barkin Ladi communities of Plateau State.
The President had in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, on Tuesday, condemned the attacks and ordered a manhunt for the perpetrators.
While condoling with the government and the people of Plateau State, Tinubu assured Nigerians that “these envoys of death, pain, and sorrow will not escape justice.”
His deputy, Shettima, who was accompanied by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, visited the scene on Wednesday and assured that the Tinubu administration would not rest until the victims of the gruesome attacks get justice.
However, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, in a statement on Friday, questioned the failure of intelligence before and during the coordinated killings.
“Of further concern is that Nigerians are also raising issues on these apprehensions by referring to the statement attributed to a former military head of State, General Sani Abacha, on the possibility of complicity by officials of a government in unrestrained insurgency or crisis such as witnessed in the Plateau State massacre,” Ologunagba stated.
The opposition party charged the President to allay the fear and concerns on the above by immediately visiting the affected communities and personally addressing the nation on concrete steps to track down the perpetrators and their sponsors.
The statement read in part, “It smacks of grave insensitivity and dereliction of duty for Mr President as the Commander-in-Chief to remain silent in the face of the targeted massacre of his citizens without defence and assistance. The President even failed to play his expected role as consoler-in-chief by not immediately visiting the troubled areas to demonstrate leadership, empathy, and connection with the citizens.
“Instead of sending his aides to issue lame statements and detailing surrogates to visit after much prodding, President Tinubu should have as a matter of duty personally visited the scene of the genocide to give succour to the families of the dead and the wounded as well as reassure that his government is with the people of the affected communities in particular and Plateau State in general.”
However, the ruling All Progressives Congress chided the PDP for describing the President as an insensitive leader over his failure to visit the affected Plateau communities.
Reacting via a WhatsApp message from Saudi Arabia, the National Publicity Director of the APC, Bala Ibrahim, told one of our correspondents that the PDP’s accusation was a case of a pot calling the kettle black, adding that former President Goodluck Jonathan did worse during his tenure.
Ibrahim also recalled that the former President went about his campaign for re-election in the wake of a suicide bombing in Potiskum, Yobe State, where 48 pupils were killed and about 80 others injured.
He said,
“The PDP under former President Jonathan was the biggest culprit in such insensitivity if they choose to call the failure of the President to be in Plateau as insensitivity. You may recall the callous decision of former President Goodluck Jonathan to declare his second term ambition a day after 48 pupils were killed and about 80 injured in a suicide bombing in Potiskum, Yobe state.
“The whole world rose in anger, describing the action as dancing on the graves of the pupils, as well as that of all the victims of the Boko Haram insurgency. It was more like celebrating a national tragedy by the then-president and leader of the PDP. I think the PDP is suffering from memory loss.”