Plateau Government Chides Group Over Statement On Negotiation With Killers

The Plateau State Government has chided the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) over allegations that President Muhammadu Buhari and Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong have reportedly endorsed a ‘peace treaty’ between alleged aggressors of Fulani and Christians of Plateau State. 

Earlier, HURIWA made some allegations against the duo demanding the people of Plateau State to hold their governor, Simon Lalong, responsible for unprecedented insecurity in the State. 

According to the Special Adviser on Public Affairs to the Governor of Plateau State, the statement was filled with mischief, lies and sponsored propaganda, stating, it is important to put the records straight before he misleads some members of the public. 

"We wonder what treaty Onwubiko is referring to which has been endorsed by Governor Lalong and President Buhari. If he is referring to the series of Dialogue and Accords the Irigwe people and Fulani which took place during the attacks in Bassa last year when the Peace Building Agency brought together the two parties to find ways of addressing killings in their areas, then he is either very ignorant or deliberately mischievous. 

"Onwubiko who cut his teeth in journalism and activism in Plateau State at the State-owned Nigeria Standard is fully aware that the people that were brought together are Irigwe and Fulani who have lived together for many years but have become victims of vicious killers and merchants of crises who attack innocent citizens on both sides, in a dispute over ownership of Farmlands, not religion as insinuated in the writeup. 

"Is he saying that the two groups cannot come together to address their common challenges and agree on a pact to expose Criminal elements from the two sides who have wedged barriers between them despite the long history of peaceful coexistence?

"Can they not put in place measures to remove suspicion and rebuild trust which will help them identify and hand over criminals in their midst? How has the effort of the Plateau Peace Building Agency, which is on record as having held an unprecedented 34  Peace Dialogues, between January and July 2021 alone, suddenly turned into negotiating with killers?

"Onwubiko knows the killers he is referring to, he might as well assist the security agencies with their identities or at best forward same to the Governor. We categorically stand on the fact that Governor Lalong did not and has never negotiated with any killer in Plateau State. 

"Does Onwubiko realise that nobody, including Governor Lalong, has ever promised any Amnesty to suspected killers in Plateau State? Does he also know that the security agencies have continued to go after suspected killers on the directive of the Governor thereby making some arrests with prosecutions ongoing? 

"It is now crystal clear that it is people like Onwubiko and his organisation in collaboration with some irresponsible elements of the opposition PDP-whose tired Narratives are discernable through the length and breadth of the writeup, who constantly fuel the embers of hate in Plateau State with their uninformed and toxic rhetoric, often filled with misinformation and mischief. 

"Little wonder, some of the parties that attend such sessions by the Plateau Peace Building Agency say one thing at the meeting and are quickly brainwashed by "activists and arm-chair critics" like HURIWA to issue Press releases soon after, denying their participation at such sessions and twisting facts of the proceedings for political gains. 

"It is not surprising that Onwubiko who has consistently proven to be a hireling and attack dog for the opposition PDP, will delve into the impeachment of former Speaker Ayuba Abok who the PDP wanted to use to discredit the Lalong Government and in the process, curry sympathy from deceived citizens to gain political relevance. Though their target was the Local Government Elections held in September last year, they woefully failed to realise their dream, and their naive and immature Abok was finally deservedly swept away like a pack of cards. 

"This will not only increase tensions but also further widen the situation unnecessarily. We wonder what the organisation stands to gain from this. For HURIWA and Onwubiko's irresponsible writeups with fabricated facts, such as the one in issue may attract more money from their PDP Sponsors and some gullible Donor Partners, but for us in Plateau State, we count the costs of fake Human Rights advocacy garnished with incitement to further violence, in the tragic loss of Human Lives and destruction of properties of innocent citizens of the State," he said.