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President Bola Tinubu has pledged to deploy the full powers of the government against those responsible for recurring violence in Plateau State, warning that anyone found culpable would face firm action.
Tinubu gave the warning on Tuesday night at the Presidential Villa during a meeting with Plateau stakeholders led by Governor Caleb Mutfwang and attended by all former governors of the state. The session lasted several hours and ended around 8 pm.
According to visuals released by the State House media office on Wednesday, the President said the government would act once those instigating or financing the killings were identified.
He urged stakeholders to provide the names of troublemakers, agents or provocateurs behind the attacks, assuring them that the powers of his office would be used against such persons.
“If you identify and you know the names of troublemakers, agents or provocateurs who want to continue killing or instigate killing, let us know.
“We will use the instrument of office to deal with them,” Tinubu said.
Tinubu said security agencies would move against suspects once credible intelligence was made available, stressing that the cycle of violence in the state must end.
He also backed a newly formed peace committee comprising former Plateau governors and directed them to operate as a single body to review existing white papers on past conflicts and submit agreed recommendations for implementation.
“Call one another. Ignore the Governor’s Committee if you have to, or incorporate them. Take that white paper, go through it among yourselves and agree to implement it.
“If the ones you have chosen before now are not working, you have to mix and amend membership.
“Forget those committees you mentioned to me; if it’s not working, it’s not working. Consider this group as the committee until we find a lasting solution,” he said.
The President said ineffective committees should be restructured or scrapped, adding that the new body would serve as the main framework for peace efforts until a lasting solution is achieved.
Tinubu further renewed his support for the creation of state police, describing it as a major solution to Plateau’s security challenges.
He said the government would work with lawmakers to establish state police nationwide, expressing confidence that stronger local law enforcement would help address such problems.
The President said the country must end the creation of widows, widowers and orphans, insisting that peace must return.
He also called for greater inclusion of non-indigenes in Plateau governance structures as part of confidence-building efforts, adding that the Federal Government was ready to support public enlightenment campaigns against discrimination and violence.
Mutfwang described the meeting as historic, saying it was the first time all living former governors of Plateau had gathered in one forum.
He said the development was a step that could be built upon, adding that, with political differences narrowed, stakeholders would be able to work together.
“The coming together of the former governors has never happened before.
“This is the first time it is happening, and I believe that is a step we can build upon.
“Since we have closed the political space, I am sure some of the issues that have been politicised have been narrowed out, and we will be able to move together as brothers.”
The meeting followed earlier engagements between Tinubu and Plateau leaders, including a visit to Jos after the Palm Sunday killings in Angwan Rukuba that left dozens dead.
Plateau State has long faced recurring ethno-religious and farmer-herder violence, with repeated attacks reported in Riyom, Barkin Ladi, Bokkos, Mangu and Bassa local government areas.
