Vice President Kashim Shettima, on Wednesday, said the President Bola Tinubu-led government will not rest until victims and survivors of the attacks on communities in Barkin Ladi and Bokkos Local Government Areas of Plateau State get justice.
With tensions currently high, Shettima also implored Plateau citizens to resist the lure of sectional divisions or the poisonous rhetoric of hatred towards their fellow citizens.
He said violence and bloodshed only persist when citizens take laws into their hands.
“We won’t rest until you access justice and until you are safe, resist the temptation to succumb to sectional divisions or the poisonous rhetoric of hatred,” Shettima said when he visited and commiserated with the affected Plateau communities over the recent killings in Barkin Ladi and Bokkos LGAs.
Vice President Kashim Shettima consoles victims of Plateau Christmas Eve Attacks during his visit to Bokkos LGA of Plateau States on Wednesday. Photo Credit: Sumaila Ibrahim
Over 150 persons were killed as armed men attacked 12 communities in Bokkos, while at least 17 others died in coordinated attacks on three communities in Barkin Ladi on Christmas Day.
According to survivors’ accounts, the attacks were executed by persons believed to be herders who displaced thousands of settlers and destroyed property worth millions of naira.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed on Wednesday titled, ‘We won’t rest until you get justice, VP Shettima assures Plateau communities.’
While urging the people to resist the temptation to succumb to sectional divisions, he said, “This violence persists due to this dangerous practice of treating criminals as ambassadors of their group, where the law is taken into our hands, and where protection fails. But this is not the case now. This is a promise.”
Shettima vowed that the killings on the Plateau and other parts of the country must stop, saying, “Now, please accept our heartfelt condolences. Please accept our deepest apologies. Because we won’t rest until you access justice and until you are safe.”
He informed the people about how heartbroken Tinubu had been since receiving news of the incident, saying the President “is deeply shaken by this tragedy and shares in this unspeakable sorrow that has shattered the joy of Christmas across the country.
“When one community bleeds, the entire nation feels the pain. The pain we feel now transcends ethnicity or religion, geography or politics.
“The grief that binds us is a testament to our shared humanity, not differences.”
The VP identified with the grieving families who lost loved ones in the attack and now have to bury whole families.
He described it as a rare experience that is much more unbearable than the pain of losing one or two loved ones.
“We cannot fathom the depth of this grief beyond the experience of the bereaved. We can only offer to assuage your pain.
“What has happened to you is a funeral for the entire nation. Our hearts bleed alongside yours, our dear brothers and sisters in Bokkos, Barkin-Ladi, and all over Plateau State,” he stated.
VP Shettima assured the people that the Tinubu administration is out to protect them and ensure justice, even though it may appear that the government has failed them in their time of need.
Describing justice as the path to collective safety, unity and healing of the nation, he said, “We came to power promising to uphold the sanctity of every citizen’s life, and now is the time to reassure you that this inter-community violence, which has hijacked the humanity and serenity of this beautiful State over the past decades, will never persist under our watch.
“We will harness all our resources to bring those responsible to justice; we will not rest until we are able to prevent the recurrence of these heinous acts. Your blood, your tears, and your cries stain our collective conscience.
“We are here for you; we are here, resolute in our commitment to ensuring that the perpetrators of these mindless killings face the full force of the law.”
