Security operatives have arrested no fewer than eight suspects in connection with the onslaughts on Christmas Eve that claimed the lives of about 200 persons in some communities of Bokkos, Barkin-Ladi, and Mangu Local Government Areas of Plateau State.
The police spokesperson in the state, Alfred Alabo said this on Thursday, explaining that the suspects were arrested at various locations.
In the wake of the development, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun had deployed officers to the North-Central State.
“Concerning the Inspector General of Police’s deployment, we have been getting tremendous success from that process,” the Plateau police spokesman said.
“It would also interest you to know that seven persons, in fact as of the last count, there are now eight of them under investigation in our custody and they have been moved to the state CID where the AIG Zone 4 and the commissioner of police are overseeing the affairs of the operation and also the investigation.”
The Christmas Eve attack attracted condemnation locally and globally. President Bola Tinubu had ordered a probe into the incidents. Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang also called for “united efforts to identify and apprehend those responsible for these heinous acts”.
Vice President Kashim Shettima visited the area to commiserate with the people of the North-Central State.
During the visit, Shettima appealed to the residents to “resist the temptation to succumb to sectional divisions or the poisonous rhetoric of hatred towards your fellow citizens, as we pursue justice to ensure your security”.
North-West and central Nigeria have been long terrorised by bandit militias operating from bases deep in forests and raiding villages to loot and kidnap residents for ransom.
Competition for natural resources between nomadic herders and farmers, intensified by rapid population growth and climate pressures, has also exacerbated social tensions and sparked violence.
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