Plateau State’s Commissioner for Information, Dan Majang, has said that so long as certain acts of injustice continue, there will be recurrences of mass violence in the state.
According to Mr Majang, who was a guest on Thursday’s edition of Sunrise Daily, one of such acts of injustice, is the failure to see that some “sacred cows” are made to feel the full weight of the law.
“If there is no justice, there will be reoccurrence. If you see an issue of this nature happening, then it means that there are sacred cows, the laws are not being applied.
“We have had in the past in the life of this state, at that time I was media adviser, we have had instances whereby criminal elements were intercepted – about 16 of them from another state, they were carrying weapons, they were investigated, arraigned in court and before you know it, the case files were transferred to Abuja and that was the end of it,” the Commissioner disclosed via Skype.
Giving more examples of the ‘sacred cow’ menace in the state, Mr Majang recalled a time during the Nikki Tobi Commission of Inquiry, “when a Commissioner of Police was indicted and it was recommended that he should be relieved of his position and at the end of the day, to the chagrin of the State, the man was promoted to be an IGP at the end of the day, even after the Plateau government had written against it”.
In the spokesman’s opinion, only a full implementation of the law will see to the restoration of peace in the state.
The Commissioner’s comments come few days after dozens were killed and many more injured following an attack by suspected herdsmen in Yelwa Zangam village, Zangam District of Jos North Local Government Area.
The attack left a dark cloud of doubt over Plateau State even as angry youths stormed the Plateau Specialist Hospital where the corpses of victims had been deposited and evacuated them into vans.
They later proceeded with the corpses to the State House of Assembly, blocking all roads leading to the area, and when they could not be pacified, all roads then led to the Government House; there, the corpses were laid on the floor, as the people demanded justice for the dead and their loved ones.
While noting that the people have every right to be angry, the Commissioner said the aggrieved must understand that the Plateau State government is not pleased with the violence, neither is the government happy that its people are being slaughtered.
He however, assured that the government is doing “everything humanly possible” to see that the hostilities are brought to an end, with the perpetrators having to pay for their deeds.
Mr Majang disclosed that the corpses left at the Government House have been evacuated and taken to the mortuary, adding that plans are already being made to bury the dead, while the peace building agency continues to talk to warring factions.
Speaking on the curfew that was imposed after the incident, the Commissioner said the government took the decision to ensure that the security agencies can carry out their investigations.
While stressing that the situation in Jos would have been a lot worse without the imposition of a curfew, Mr Majang said arrests are being made and the government will explore all legal means to ensure the restoration of peace in Plateau State.
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