BY AHMED AKANBI
The Northern Senators Forum (NSF) has said “this cycle of bloodshed must end” in Plateau State, as it commiserated with families of those killed in the overnight attack on August 18 where at least 25 people, mostly women and children, were hacked to death in their homes.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, and signed by its Chairman, Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’Adua, the Forum said the latest tragedy in Plateau was “one too many”.
“We also remember all other victims of violence in Mangu and across Plateau. This latest tragedy is one too many,” it stated.
The senators noted that over the last three years, Plateau State has witnessed a pattern of sustained attacks on communities in Mangu, Bokkos, Barkin Ladi and other local government areas.
“These incidents have resulted in hundreds of lives lost, thousands injured, tens of thousands displaced, and thousands of homes and farms destroyed. The frequency and scale of these attacks underscore the urgent need for decisive action,” they said.
The Forum commended the Nigerian Army and the Joint Task Force Operation Enduring Peace, OPEP, for their swift response, noting the deployment of additional troops and equipment to troubled communities, and the relocation of the OPEP tactical headquarters from Jos to Mangu Local Government Area.
According to the NSF, the move by the Commander, Major General Williams Maxwell Dangana, would enable direct and real-time oversight and faster response to emerging threats.
It also acknowledged the visit of Mr. President to Plateau State and the Federal Government’s interventions so far.
However, the senators called on the Plateau State Government to, within its constitutional and budgetary capacity, do more by leading genuine community dialogue between farmers, herders, and traditional institutions to address land use, grazing routes, and compensation for destroyed farms and homes.
They also urged the government to institute a transparent compensation and resettlement framework for victims and internally displaced persons, IDPs so that justice, not reprisal, becomes the responses, adding that it should invest urgently in technology — drones, CCTV, and early warning systems — in all flashpoint wards including Ampang, Kombul, Mangu, and Gindiri axis, to detect and deter attacks before they happen.
“The security and welfare of the people is the primary purpose of government under Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution. That duty must now be matched with action, not only condolences,” the Forum stated.
It urged citizens to remain calm and give security agencies the support to fish out the perpetrators, and called on government at all levels to shift from reaction to prevention.