Days after the deadly attacks that claimed over 190 lives in Plateau State, governors of the North-Central region yesterday visited Governor Caleb Mutfwang.
Governors that were physically present included Hyacinth Alia (Benue), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa) and Umaru Bago (Niger). However, Governors Yahaya Bello (Kogi) and AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq (Kwara) were absent and no reason was given.
During the visit to the Plateau State Government House, they donated N100 million on behalf of the region’s governors.
Plateau has been experiencing a series of attacks by non-state actors, locally called bandits, who kill people at will without being challenged by security agencies.
While the state is yet to recover from the death of several people in the Christmas Eve attacks on Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi local government areas of the state, the assailants struck again on December 31, killing two persons – a father and his son.
The attacks prompted the visit of the service chiefs as well as the Minister of State for Defence Bello Matawalle and his Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation counterpart Betta Edu.
“Proactive measures will be taken by the government to curb ongoing attacks against innocent civilians,” said Gyang Bere, the governor’s spokesperson.
Amnesty International criticised the government in the wake of the attacks, saying “the Nigerian authorities have been failing to end frequent deadly attacks on rural communities of Plateau state,” in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
North-West and central Nigeria have been long terrorised by bandit militias operating from bases deep in forests and raiding villages to loot and kidnap residents for ransom.
