Plateau State Administrator, Major-General Chris Alli (rtd) has vowed to move troops into Shendam if the peace efforts in the state are further threatened. He issued what he called a “last warning” to the people weekend, during a parley in Shendam in the course of his tour of the state.
He expressed disappointment that despite assurances by the youth in the area to keep the peace, there were still reports of threats to peace.
He said government would not shy away from taking decisive action if pushed to the wall and advised the Gamai Youth to emulate their elders who have been cooperating with the administration in the search for peace.
The administrator’s threat followed reports of abduction of some people in retaliation for the alleged kidnapping and killing of five people in Yelwa recently.
The administrator warned the youths against taking the law into their hands no matter the level of provocation, adding that government was capable of maintaining peace in every part.
However, he was full of praise for the people of Qua’an Pan local government area during a similar parley at Ba’ap, the council headquarters, commending them for keeping to their promise to work for peace.
He spoke of efforts to get more relief materials for victims of the crises, now returning to their former homes, assuring that everything would be done to alleviate their situation.
However, the youth wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the state has advised the administrator not to make the same mistake made by the suspended Dariye administration by trying to suppress information on skirmishes in the state.
Reacting to the reported killing of some people in Yelwa and government’s response to the development, the youth CAN said government should fish out the culprits and make them face the law rather than try to downplay the incident.
The state government had in a reaction to the reported killings, described it as incredulous but with a promise to investigate it.
But in a chat with Vanguard last weekend, the Publicity Secretary of the association, Rev. Mathias Ndian said attempting to downplay the incident would only lead to reprisals as happened in the past. “Government is shying away from arresting and dealing with some of this people and this will lead to further problems.
Government should not give the impression that it is afraid of any religion or group. “Let us face reality and tell each other the truth, if not we will not get the peace we want. It’s going to be reprisal and reprisal”.
