By Amos Tauna
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – The Middle Belt Forum has called on Governor Lalong to stop the constant bloodletting in the region by evolving a security outfit similar to Amotekun as created by the Southwest states.
The forum, says a security outfit such as Amotekun will help in no small measure to curb the deteriorating security situation in Plateau state and environs.
The National President of the MBF, Dr Pogu Bitrus, in a statement, said a strategy that sees security personnel collaborating with local authorities is what the region desperately needs for its protection.
“We believe an outfit such as that of Amotekun and Joint Task Force (JTF), comprising local vigilante groups and security personnel, as practised in the North-east can go a long way in protecting our people from murderous activities of terrorists and criminal gangs.
“The Forum calls on Governor Lalong to stop these unremitting blood-spattered assaults by evolving a security outfit similar to that of Amotekun as adopted by the South-west to arrest further deterioration of security in the state.”
Recall that governor Simon Lalong had ordered the Plateau state commissioner of police, Isaac Akinmoyede to arrest the Fulani and community leaders of affected communities following the killing and destruction of properties around Kwatas and nearby communities of Bokkos local government area recently.
The forum urged Governor Lalong to spare no effort in bringing the perpetrators of the devious murders to justice, stressing that when criminals are not brought to account for their dreadful crimes; they get emboldened.
“As a Forum dedicated to the well-being of people living in the Middle Belt Region, we welcome Governor Lalong’s new resolve, which we believe is borne out of a sincere desire to end the interminable bloodshed that is daily becoming an inseparable trait of living for people on the Plateau.
“We are encouraged that the order to arrest Ardos and other community leaders is capable of opening new vistas in understanding the dynamics behind these mindless killings and destruction.
“As the Governor noted, it is impossible and unacceptable for such massive attacks to be unleashed, with no single arrest made by security agencies. Having witnessed colossal and ceaseless attacks in the past weeks, Plateau state has become a cynosure for massacres.”
The forum commended the efforts of governor Lalong saying, “As the Chief Security Officer of Plateau State, we commend Governor Lalong for not sitting idly and watching helplessly at the continuous murders of peaceful citizens of his state, whose only fault is being indigenous people of Plateau state.”
The Middle Belt Forum further called on the governor to walk his talk and deploy relevant mechanisms towards bringing the guilty ones to justice.
While commiserating with the grieving indigenes over their losses, the forum said it acknowledges the horrifying pains the people of the Plateau have been subjected to following the reprehensible murders.
“There is no doubt that these gory assaults have led to enormous sorrows and cast dark clouds of frightening uncertainties in the skies for the besieged communities.
“The MBF fully identifies and commiserates with the Plateau State Government and the people over these avoidable human and material devastation,” the forum lamented.
