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Plateau killings: APC gvt has turned its back on the people – PDP
“The senseless loss of life is a gloomy testament to the ongoing security crisis and the government’s lack of pro-activeness and apparent indifference to the safety and welfare of the people it was elected to serve.”
These were the words with which the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), strongly called out the Federal Government over the killing of seven persons at a mining site in Kuru District, Jos South Local Government Area, which the party described as a grim reminder of the worsening security situation in the state.
The Nigerian Army, had confirmed that seven illegal miners were shot dead in the early hours of Thursday when suspected armed bandits attacked an illegal mining site at Capitex, Kuru, while troops of Sector 6, Operation Safe Haven, clarified that the attackers who struck around 1:00 a.m. before leaving the scene.
The main opposition party in a statement signed by Choji Dalyop, the Plateau State chapter, said the latest killings exposed what it described as the government’s “egregious failure” to protect lives and guarantee basic security.
The statement, added: “We have noted with great concern and issued a strong condemnation of the tragic killing of seven innocent citizens in their prime at a mining site in Wat of Kuru District, Jos South LGA of Plateau State,” the party said, adding that the victims were killed by “enemies of the state.”
The PDP linked the Kuru attack to what it described as a long-standing and poorly addressed security crisis in Plateau State, warning that repeated incidents of violence continue to erode public confidence in governance and democracy.
Referencing the 1999 Constitution, the party argued that the protection of lives and property remains the primary responsibility of government, stressing that repeated attacks and the failure to bring perpetrators to justice amount to a “severe dereliction of duty” under Section 14(2) of the Constitution.
Recalling the report of a fact-finding committee set up by Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, governor of the state in 2025 to probe incessant killings in the state, which revealed that many attackers allegedly came from neighbouring states and that violence had spread across at least 420 communities, the lamented that thousands of people—mostly women, children and the elderly—had been displaced, with nearly 12,000 lives reportedly lost over time.
He added: “Plateau State cannot afford to treat such atrocities as business as usual. This violence is well coordinated, deliberate and devastating and threatens our state’s image as the Home of Peace and Tourism.
Against this backdrop, the party issued three key demands: a transparent and impartial investigation into the Kuru killings with findings made public; the swift prosecution of those responsible to ensure accountability and deterrence; and the development of a clear, actionable security plan to address the root causes of insecurity.
“The art of rhetoric and empty condemnations alone will not suffice. The people demand action, justice and a government that prioritises human life over political power. We stand in solidarity with the families of the victims and affected communities.
“We urge both national and international stakeholders to closely monitor the renewed wave of insecurity and human rights situation in Plateau State, with a view to ensuring swift and decisive action.”
The echoes of the drums rolled out to celebrate the rescue of the 44 teachers and students, kidnapped from some schools in Oyo State, after 56 days in the bush, would surely be disrupted abruptly, with the divergent echoes of a fresh abduction, this time coming from Kogi State.
Reports indicate that the gunmen, struck on Tuesday at the Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in Dekina Local Government Area of the state, abducting four students, the school principal and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member.
Authorities of the Kogi State Police Command, who immediately unleashed their operatives in hot pursuit of the abductors, said the attack occurred at about 5:25 p.m. while the students were writing their NECO examination.
Saliu Oyiza Afusat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and spokesman of the command, said a combined team of police personnel and other security agencies has launched a search-and-rescue operation following the incident.
Informing that one of the students was actually rescued immediately, she said efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims and apprehend the attackers, adding that Naziru Bello Kankarofi, the state Commissioner of Police, alongside the Brigade Commander and the State Security Adviser to the Governor, Commodore Jerry Omodara (Rtd), were already on the way to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
Oil prices are expected to go down now with the announcement of Donald Trump, US President that he will no longer impose a 20 percent “safe passage” fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The POTUS, hinged his reversal of the decision on the intervention from some Gulf countries, who pleaded with him not to toe the line due to the massive economic impact the decision would make on the region.
Indeed, oil prices had shot up immediately Trump announced the new levy on Monday while declaring the US ‘the guardians of the Hormuz strait,’ a measure which he said was to pay for the cost of guarding the volatile area in order keep supply of oil flowing.
Reports said that Gulf allies of the US worked frantically to get Trump on the phone in time to talk him out of the idea altogether, while a flurry of appeals came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
In response, the POTUS, posting on his Truth Social platform, wrote: “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
Trump, who said the investments would be “MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” added that the deals would see factories, plants, and equipment pour into the US at “Historic levels.”
The Gulf nations have committed to invest trillions of dollars in the US, though it remains unclear how much of that they will actually spend over the next several years.
Meanwhile, the US continues to bomb Iran in what appears to be a resumption of active conflict between both countries, despite an ongoing roadmap to end the conflict.
Reports say operatives of the Osun State Police Command, and those of the Department of State Services (DSS) had tracking the trail of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), for weeks, before he was eventually pulled out of his hole on Tuesday.
However, the duo, were said to have pulled back after failing to track him through his mobile phones, which he had reportedly switched off for about two days, making it difficult to locate him, leaving the stage for the members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (PI-RT) led by Moses Lohor, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
Lohor, said to have previously served as the Commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Osun State, and reported to have been involved in high-profile security operations and controversies, after taken over fielded his men to pick up signals from their well-oiled signal networks.
Regarded by many Osun residents as one of the key security officers who contributed significantly to the peace and stability enjoyed in Ilesa and other parts of the state during his tenure, he was said to have relied on his contacts before his transfer out of the state, said to have raised concerns from the public about the security situation he would be leaving behind.
His exit from the state was said to be hinged on an incident in 2024, in which he allegedly shot one Iyanda Alowonle, then Chairman of Osun State Motor Transport System, in the stomach at the police station in the state prompting an order for his arrest by then Inspector General of Police (IGP).
His effort was said to have paid off when he successfully tracked down the controversial PFIPC, boss, who was seen on Tuesday evening, in a shot video on social media undergoing interrogation, and eventually handed him over to Ibrahim Gotan, Commissioner of Police in the state.
The PUNCH quoted one of the sources as saying: “The arrest (of Adeyemi) took place on Tuesday morning by the IRT squad, who immediately moved him to Abuja. After he was arrested, he was taken to Ibadan and from there to Abuja.”
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