PLATEAU: Religious Leaders Seek Help Over Recurring Attacks In Mangu, Accuse Security Operatives Of Complicity

Religious leaders in the Mangu Local Government Area (LGA) of Plateau State have cried out for help following recent attacks and the alleged destruction of religious centres and houses in the area.

THE WHISTLER had monitored grievances trailing the incident which has garnered over 85,000 reactions in the last 24 hours on the macro blogging application, X, where the outcry took a religious colouration.

This paper reported on Wednesday of a fresh attack in Mangu, despite a 24-hour curfew imposed by the state government in the LGA to abate the proliferation of attacks.

Many Christians on the X application accused rival religious groups of perpetrating the attacks and security agencies of turning a blind eye, and allegedly fuelling the extrajudicial killings in the LGA.

Hence, residents of the state demanded the immediate removal of the military from Mangu LGA and sought an end to the recurring fatalities and attacks on their religious members.

A video circulating on the X showed the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Mangu LGA, Rev Timothy Daluk expressing his grievances over the insecurity situation in the state.

Daluk donning a black sweatshirt vented his frustration in a 2:33 minute video where he said, “I am here to report the situation in Mangu LGA for the whole world to understand what is happening in Mangu at this particular point in time. The military is the one sending the people away to allow the militia to burn their houses.

“At this particular point in time, they have sent every Christian away from New Market, and thereby leaving the Muslims to kill and burn their houses.

“They set a curfew, a curfew restricted to only people within Mangu, within the Christian domain, but in the Muslim domain, they are free to move and do whatever they want to do.

“Not only that. The military has killed three of our young men which I know. One is before my own church. They killed one yesterday, and I reported to the security, he said that it was a fake soldier. At first, he said, I was lying, until I proved to him beyond reasonable doubt, then he finally accepted it.

“I said, ‘No, he is not a fake soldier’. Finally, they made a signal to the soldier and he disappeared. Now that I am speaking to you, all of them have switched off their phones, and they allowed the place to be burned down and raided by the people.

“People around Gindiri junction… their houses are now ablaze because the soldiers protected them and allowed them to burn people’s houses. They are not doing anything about it.

“So, we in Mangu LGA, we do not want the military. They should pack their loads and go… So, I am calling the world to understand this thing should stop, and people should come to our rescue to save Mangu LGA.”

However, the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), an umbrella group for the Nigerian Muslim community condemned the resurgence of violence in Mangu LGA while also accusing the state’s security outfit, Operation Rainbow of compromise and partisanship.

In a statement signed by its secretary Salim Umar on Wednesday night, the group confirmed the incident, noting that the reports from LGA were not encouraging as “places of worship and faith-based schools were torched and demolished while the killing continues.”

The group noted that it was previous attacks on the LGA that necessitated the imposition of a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the LGA by the state government.

The statement read partly: “This measure perhaps was timely. Unfortunately, the implementation becomes problematic because the security personnel are obviously overstretched while some are allegedly compromised.

“Residents are decrying the negative role of the state government security outfit codenamed ‘Operation Rainbow’, accusing them of glaring partisanship.

“Security agents should be on the lookout for possible infiltrators as it is widely alleged that some hired killers are on the prowl with the intent to carry out massive attacks on Muslims in the community. This is an act that shouldn’t be allowed to happen.”

The group further called on the government and security agencies to intensify their efforts in securing the lives and properties of the state.

Earlier, the State’s Police Command told THE WHISTLER that calm had been restored to the affected communities, and that it was preparing a detailed statement, but no information has been released by the command as of press time.