Fear as Bandits Give Fresh Attack Notice to Plateau Village
- Bandits have written a fresh attack notice to another Plateau community days after 195 lives were claimed in a massacre that is nationally condemned
- The community leader said the letter is not an empty threat as previous fatal attacks were preceded over by the same anonymous letters
- Nigerians are calling on the federal government to demonstrate the full might of its military power to end the decades-long recurring violence
Just a day after the Plateau state governor confirmed that no fewer than 195 lives were lost in a widely condemned Christmas Eve attack, another community has been given a fresh assault notice by an anonymous insurgent.
The notice stated that the Pushit community in Mangu LGA will be invaded today, 29 December. The apparent brazen disregard for national peace arrangements has sent shockwaves into the community.
Source: Getty Images
PAY ATTENTION: Share your outstanding story with our editors! Please reach us through info@corp.legit.ng!
The latest development was made known by the deputy national president of Middle-Belt Forum, MBF, Stanley Kavwam, who was speaking in an interview with Arise TV on 29 December.
Kavwam stressed that such notices are not bluffs as previous ones happened on the warned date.
The Christmas Eve brutal assault was a coordinated one, claiming at least 195 lives, with 3000 left badly injured, and another 10,000 displaced. Another 1290 residential buildings were set ablaze.
Pressure on Tinubu
Nigerians have intensified calls for President Tinubu to intervene in the recurring series of violence that is showing no sign of stopping.
As reported by Vanguard, Bishop Francis Oke, the national president of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, has urged the president to weigh in on the matter with the full federal might, noting that peace in Plateau state can no longer be postponed.
Also, Prophet Isa El-Buba, the convener of the Initiative for a Better and Brighter Nigeria, IBBN, has urged the president, who is currently holidaying at his residence in Lagos, to halt his vacation to address the pressing needs of the Plateau people.
Interestingly, Kavvum claimed that the military is aware and well-informed of the perpetrators and their hideouts.
Anonymous tips before previous attacks
Kavvum disclosed that in all the previous attacks in the state "there was a letter to that effect that was dropped by an anonymous person, intimating the residents of Mangu LGA that there would be attacks.”
He went on to reveal that calls were made to security institutions on the receipt of all warnings but even as their attacks usually last for 24 hours, security personnel don't always show up when needed.
Kavwam alleged that security agencies knew that an attack was coming before the Christmas Eve massacre.
His words:
“They received about 37 distress calls, that is operation Safe Haven or the Joint Task Force. About 37 distress calls! Yet nothing was done.
“All the casualties that we are talking about are in a community inhabited by Christians and the security forces know the attackers, they even know their hideouts for two decades.
FG gathering intelligence
Meanwhile, the federal government has said it is gathering the necessary information needed to make a decisive intervention.
This was made known by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, who condoled with the bereaved families.
He said:
“At the federal level, all hands are on deck across the security and intelligence agencies, to scale up intelligence-gathering and crisis-response efforts,” Idris said.
Senator Natasha Akpoti commiserates with victims' families
Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Senator Natasha Akpoti, who represents Kogi Central Senatorial District, expressed her sorrow and sadness over the massacre, saying she could not celebrate Christmas with joy
She called on the federal government to intervene and prevent such tragedies from happening again
PAY ATTENTION: Donate to Legit Charity on Patreon. Your support matters!
Source: Legit.ng
