Pledge to end attacks on rural communities
By Israel Adamu, Jos
Inorder to provide immediate succour, the Plateau State Government on Sunday donated relief materials worth millions to victims of attacks in some communities of Bokkos Local Government Area of the state.
It could be recalled that about five communities in Bokkos Local government Council of Plateau were attacked by gunmen last week Wednesday leading to the death of several people.
Our correspondent reports that Arch Samuel Jatau, the Secretary to the State Government, led a delegation of top government officials to the affected communities on Sunday.
Jatau, who described the attacks as a well coordinated one, said that the Mutfwang administration in collaboration with the Federal Government and the security agencies had taken steps to forestall future occurrence
The SGS also assured the people that the state government would do everything possible towards the safety of lives and property in all parts of th state.
He explained that the items donated to the victims is a token of support from the state government to cushion the immediate hardship that the victims were going through.
“”We are here to see to things for ourselves and ascertain the level of damages done by the attackers.
“It is unfortunate that in this era people could attack, kill innocent citizens and destroy their properties without thinking twice.
“We have seen things for ourselves and we will report back to the governor; we want to assure the people that they are not alone.
“We are here with some relief materials to cushion the immediate hardship that the people are currently passing through, pending a more lasting solution
“Aside the relief items, we have also come alongside our medical team to attend to the medical needs of the victims,”he said.
Jatau, however, seized the opportunity and called on the residents of the state to be vigilant and support the state government’s efforts toward ensuring peace and tranquility in all parts of the state.
Receiving the items on behalf of the victims, Mr Alo Raymond, District Head of Manguna, thanked the state government and the security agencies for responding swiftly to the situation.
He particularly commended Gov. Caleb Mutfwang for the various initiatives aimed at ensuring the safety of lives and property in the state.
Raymond, who promised to judiciously distribute the relief materials to the affected victims, however, called for deployment of more security personnel to communities in his domain.
“As the raining season sets in, we call on the the government at all levels to deploy more security to our communities to enable our people to go their farms without fear of intimidation.
“We are grateful to the state government for coming to our aid; these items will go a long way to provide succour to our people who are affected by the recent attacks,”he said
Earlier, the Village Head of Hurti, one of the attacked communities said that the attackers killed many persons, destroyed more than 380 houses and displaced about 1,000 persons.
He also said that the criminal elements looted foodstuff and destroyed other farming tools worth millions.
Some of the government officials that accompanied the SGS to the affected communities were Mr Titus Alams and Mr Istifanus Mwansat, Special Advisers to the governor on Labour Matters and Special Duties, respectively.
Others were the Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Commissioner for Health, the Chairman of Bokkos LGA, among others.
Items of the items donated to the displaced persons include mattresses, sleeping mats, buckets, bags of rice, beans, and maize.
Others items donated include blankets, cartons of washing and bathing soaps, noodles, spaghetti, among others.
One attachment • Scanned by Gmail
