Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong has said foreign elements, who are non-residents of the state, are those instigating reprisal attacks over the recent bloody skirmishes.
Lalong said this while addressing State House Correspondents after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The governor urged the indigenes to remain calm and restrain themselves from further clashes.
He vowed to prosecute all those involved in causing violence in any part of the state.
“Again, I want to appeal to people because most of those who are outside the state and are calling for reprisals are not people from Plateau State. I am yet to see one cleric coming out to say I want reprisal.
“I have set up an inter-religious committee, which comprises all top religious leaders in Plateau State – Muslims and Christians. When something like this happen, they address it.
“So, for people to call from outside the state for reprisal, I say no because they are crying more than the bereaved. Leave us. We are handling our issues. We are doing reconciliation and consultations. Don’t call for reprisal attacks.
“If you want a reprisal, you are on your own. We have agreed with the religious leaders and all of them are doing their best. They are cooperating with the state and we are also doing our best,” he said.
Also, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde yesterday received 85 students of the University of Jos (UNIJOS) who are indigenes of the state and were evacuated from Plateau State.
The governor, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Segun Ogunwuyi, assured the students that the state government would always protect the lives and property of its indigenes and residents.
Also, the Plateau State Police Command has said its personnel neutralised six bandits during a gun duel on Monday at Kwoi village of Gindiri District in Mangu Local Government Area.
The command’s spokesman Ubah Ogaba, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), confirmed the development in a statement yesterday in Jos, the state capital.
“Yesterday (Monday), at 2 p.m., we received credible information about the activity of a notorious syndicate of gunrunners at Kwoi Village in Mangu Local Government Area of the state.
“On receipt of the information, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Intelligence Response Team (IRT) in Mangu, police operatives attached to Mangu Division, military personnel and local vigilante were mobilised and swiftly moved to the area.
“On sighting the team, the hoodlums engaged them in a gun duel, but due to the tactical operational capability and superior firepower of the operatives, six of the hoodlums were neutralised while others fled with bullet wounds.
“Regrettably, Inspector Abdulrahaman Isah, Commander of the IGP’s IRT, based in Mangu, and Hassan Mohammed, a local vigilante member, gallantly paid the supreme price,” the statement said.
It added that three AK-47 rifles were recovered from the scene.
