The four branches of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA in Plateau State, have asked that States be allowed to establish State Police, armed with weapons to defend communities in the face of continued killings and growing security threats.
The Chairman of the Jos Branch of the Association, Leah Hassan, who led her counterparts from the Pankshin, Bukuru, and Shendam Branches for a press conference in Jos on Tuesday insisted that “the lives of the people of Plateau matter,” hence no one should stand by while communities are turned into killing fields.
Her words, “The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Branches on the Plateau are deeply saddened and pained by the recent spate of violent attacks in Bokkos and Bassa Local Government Areas of Plateau State, which have claimed numerous innocent lives and left many others injured, displaced, traumatised, and grieving.”
“It is utterly heart-wrenching that while Plateau State is yet to recover from the horror and pain of previous attacks, our peace is once again shattered by another wave of senseless and barbaric killings. These acts of violence are a direct assault on our shared humanity, the rule of law, and the fundamental right to life as enshrined in our Constitution.”
“The reaction of the Nigerian Bar Association is adequately captured by the President of the Association, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, calling on the Government to rise to its responsibility of safeguarding and protecting the lives of citizens. We adopt in totality the President’s address, calling on the Government to uphold the tenets of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, particularly the right to life.”
While condemning “the brutal and premeditated attacks”, the Association called on all security agents to “rise above rhetoric and deliver swift, visible, and effective justice.”
She added, “The continued bloodletting in Plateau State, under the guise of communal crises, must no longer be treated with indifference or vague promises. The slogan should no longer be “Enough is enough,” but “This is enough – let’s stand up and take action.”
“The four branches of the NBA commend the actions taken so far by the State Government, and further call on the State and Federal Governments to take comprehensive and proactive steps to forestall future occurrences of these genocidal attacks on the people of Plateau State.”
“This is not a communal clash as stated by some individuals in society, but an intentional attack to wipe out helpless citizens sleeping in their homes at night by wicked men who have no regard for human lives. We cannot continue to be silent in the face of these barbaric and evil acts of killing innocent citizens and taking over their ancestral lands, making them strangers in their own homes.”
“We demand the immediate identification, arrest, and prosecution of the perpetrators of these wicked acts, that all perpetrators who are arrested be prosecuted in Plateau State and not taken to Abuja, where we no longer hear anything about them again, suggesting that they have been released, that the Federal Government should deploy adequate security personnel to vulnerable communities with clear mandates for community protection.”
She insisted, “States should be allowed to establish State Police who will be armed with weapons to defend our communities, the establishment of a conflict resolution and early warning mechanism through collaboration with community leaders, civil society, and security stakeholders.”
“Communities be allowed to defend themselves, the Federal Government empowers vulnerable communities with self-defense mechanisms and equipment since the current security personnel are not enough to secure our lives, and provision of relief and rehabilitation materials be made for affected persons, particularly women and children, and resettlement of displaced communities be done within the shortest possible time.”
