While Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu is away in France, the unacceptable bloodletting in the north-central state of Plateau lingers, despite assurances from security agencies.
Development Diaries reports that the recent attack on communities in Ntam and Jwakkon of Mangu local government area claimed 30 lives, despite the imposition of a 24-hour curfew after the last attacks.
The situation raises a lot of concern because it seems the country’s police have been overpowered by armed men.
After the December attacks in the state, which left over 100 people dead, Vice President Kashim Shettima promised the victims justice and also promised that the federal government would address the crisis.
What happened to these promises?
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egebtokun, after his visit to the state in December, said he had ordered the commencement of a special operation to stem the tide of attacks and killings in the state.
Why, then, is there a reoccurrence?
What happened to ‘enhanced’ security measures and the deployment of well-trained and adequately equipped security forces to the affected areas?
Why has the presence of the military, police, and other relevant security formations not been increased to deter criminal elements and respond promptly to security threats?
Additionally, what happened to intelligence gathering and sharing mechanisms to preemptively identify and neutralise potential threats?
Section 14 of Nigeria’s constitution provides that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government. However, citizens continue to be killed in the Plateau and some other parts of the country.
We had earlier stated that the attack and killing of Nigerians on the Plateau and other parts of the country show gaps in the country’s intelligence gathering and early warning systems.
As a violation of the right to life, these attacks also raise concerns about the ineffectiveness of Nigeria’s policing system, which focuses more on protecting the elite and government officials while the masses are left to sleep with their eyes wide open.
It is also clear that Nigeria needs to strengthen its border security system to prevent the infiltration of armed groups and movement of weapons.
Development Diaries calls on President Tinubu to take urgent action by strengthening the capacity of the country’s security forces to deal with these armed groups.
Photo source: Arise News
