Worried by the incessant midnight attacks on Plateau State rural communities, Chief Alexander Mwolwus, a Peoples Democratic Party chieftain, has urged the state government and security agencies to “act decisively” to end the trend.
“The attacks are frightening; they have become a daily affair. Governor Simon Lalong must rise to the challenge because we cannot continue like this,” Molwus told the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Pankshin.
NAN reports that 35 people had been killed and several others injured in midnight attacks on Bassa rural communities in the last three weeks.
According to figures released by the Plateau State Police Command, 25 people were killed at Ncha village, six at Taegbe, while four were killed at Jebu-Miango.
Last Friday, the attackers visited Wereh, a village in Barkin-Ladi Local Government, and killed four persons, including an unnamed soldier and former Plateau State Head of Civil Service, Moses Gwom.
Government imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Bassa last week as part of measures to end the killings, but the attacks have not abated.
Mwolwus, who described the killings as “callous, evil and uncalled for”, urged the government to arrest those involved and deal with them so as to deter others from committing same crime.
He said: “Any attempt by anybody or group to take Plateau back to the dark days of the past should be strongly resisted by Plateau people.”
The PDP chieftain, who sympathised with relatives of the deceased, called for more action toward stemming the “very disturbing trend”.
He wondered why human life was being taken “so casually”, pointing out that the worsening state of insecurity in the state was scaring investors that were already returning to the state.
Molwus urged members of the public to help the police by being alert and watchful, while reporting suspicious individuals to the security agencies.