The Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, on Friday assured residents that his administration had restored relative peace in the state and would not allow any individual or group to destabilise it.
Mutfwang gave the assurance after an emergency State Security Council meeting held at the Rayfield Government House in Jos, where heads of federal and state security agencies reviewed recent security developments across the state.
Briefing journalists after the meeting, the governor said the council examined incidents recorded in the last two weeks, including the mining tragedy in Wase Local Government Area and attacks in some communities.
“We’ve just finished a very high-level security council meeting where we examined all that has happened on the Plateau in recent days and within the span of the last two weeks where we’ve had a lot of issues to deal with.
“We heard about the mining incident in Wase that has claimed many lives and is still being investigated, and of course, a lot of killings that took place in the last 10 days. A lot of these deaths were totally avoidable. We must commiserate with those families and let them know that their pain is our pain,” he said.
The governor commended security agencies for preventing further loss of lives and property, pledging continued support to enhance their operations.
“We’ll continue to encourage them and facilitate their work to do better,” he added.
Mutfwang warned residents against taking the law into their hands, particularly blocking highways in protest.
“Anybody henceforth that blocks the highway without authorisation will not be accepted by government. We will make sure highways and roads are accessible to people as an entitlement,” he said.
He maintained that Plateau had enjoyed unprecedented peace in the last six months, stressing that certain elements were uncomfortable with the progress.
“In the last six months particularly, Plateau State has enjoyed unprecedented peace, and there are people who are not happy with that, and they want to destabilise the state. We must not allow them.
“We must do all we can to ensure that these merchants of conflict do not find profit on the platform. It is therefore our collective responsibility as a team to ensure that we open our eyes when we hear something that is potentially harmful and dangerous. We owe it a duty to ourselves and our families to bring it to the notice of the authorities so that we can nip some of these things in the bud,” he said.
The governor appealed to community leaders and families of victims to resist provocation and avoid actions capable of escalating tensions.
“I appeal to families and relations of those who have lost their dear ones: don’t allow anybody to provoke you into doing or saying something that is going to harm others,” he said.
He disclosed that two separate road attacks and an incident in Dorowa Babuje community had resulted in the deaths of innocent persons.
“In most of these cases, the victims were innocent. They were attacked on the roads and shot in their villages. It was not as a result of any report of suspicion or crime any of them had committed.
“We were informed that the security agencies are on the trail of the perpetrators, and we will do all we can to ensure that they are brought to book,” he added.
The State Commissioner of Police, Bassey Ewah, speaking on behalf of other security chiefs, assured residents that efforts were ongoing to apprehend those responsible.
“We are on the track of those miscreants. Efforts are being made by all the service chiefs here to get them, and we will get them,” Ewah said, dismissing reports of the discovery of a corpse in an isolated area as untrue and insisting that Plateau remained safe.
The meeting was attended by top security officials, including the General Officer Commanding 3 Division and Commander of Operation Enduring Peace, Major General Eyitayo Oyinlola, as well as senior government officials such as Deputy Governor Ngo Josephine Piyo and Secretary to the State Government, Samuel Jatau.
Meanwhile, the Plateau State National Assembly Caucus paid a condolence visit to the governor over the mining tragedy in Zurak community, Wase LGA, and the recent attack in Ratatis community, Dorowa Babuje, Barkin-Ladi LGA.
Leader of the caucus and member representing Shendam/Quan’pan/Mikang Federal Constituency, John Dafa’an, condemned the incidents and pledged legislative support to address recurring security challenges.
Responding, Mutfwang expressed appreciation for the visit, describing it as a morale booster. He disclosed that Bola Tinubu had been fully briefed on the Zurak mining incident and that necessary steps were being taken to prevent a recurrence.
He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to inclusive governance anchored on peace and unity, stressing, “Under no circumstances should anyone lose his or her life while travelling on the highway.”
The governor extended condolences to bereaved families and urged residents to unite against criminality to preserve Plateau’s reputation as the “Home of Peace and Tourism.”