The gruesome murder of 12 persons from Basawa in Zaria of Kaduna State, who were travelling for a wedding ceremony in Plateau State, is sad and condemnable. The bus was intercepted by a mob in Mangu, who descended on them, killed eight of them on the spot and set the bus belonging to Ahmadu Bello University(ABU) ablaze.
The attacks and killings of innocent travellers have become a recurring event in Plateau State’s communities. Many innocent travellers had met their untimely deaths in the hands of these merchants of death who threw away any decency and humanity to the wind.
Plateau State was once a peaceful state. It bears the slogan “Home of peace and tourism.” The state housed different ethnic groups, which coexisted or sandwiched together peacefully for a long period.
The once peaceful and serene environment of Plateau State has since shattered and turned to a centre of conflict, with many lives and properties lost due to prolong orgy or violence. Now, there is deep mutual suspicion among the various ethnic groups in the state. The lingering conflict between the Fulani nomadic and sedentary farmers has defied any solution in the state. There is an ongoing cycle of revenge and counter revenge attacks among the perceived aggressors and victims, which makes the conflict difficult to resolve.
The violence has since been made to be based on ethnicity and wore religious toga. At slight provocation or attacks from aggressors who are said to be Fulani, innocent travellers are attacked and killed with impunity.
The killing of innocent travellers did not start with the Basawa’s innocent wedding guest. In 2021, a group of Fulani from Ondo State visited their reverred Islamic scholar in Bauchi. Sadly, they were waylaid and killed in Plateau State. Also, in 2018, Major General Alkali was gruesomely murdered in the Du community of Jos South Local Government Area.
It is sad to note that the perpetrators of these heinous acts get away with their sins. Their ungodly acts did not go beyond condemnation and rhetoric by constituted authorities, assuring that the culprits would be brought to book. That will be the end of the story, until another circle of killings occur. The inability of the government to punish the culprits has further emboldened their nefarious activities and given them the audacity to strike. The state governor, Caleb Muftwang, has described the killings of the travellers as barbaric and promised to arrest and prosecute the culprits. I urge him to match his words with actions.
The Plateau State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of 22 persons in connection with the atrocity. This is a good development. Anybody who participated in the murder of the innocent travellers should be identified and punished according to the laws of the land. Their prosecution will serve as a deterrent to others.
Furthermore, the Plateau State government should carry out sensitisation programmes on the need for tolerance and humanity among the various communities in the state. Neither Christianity nor Islam preaches the killing of innocent lives. One wonders whether we are practising our religion the way it is supposed to be or not.
Ibrahim Mustapha Pambegua, Kaduna State
