Attack in Jos on travellers well-conceived, prearranged — Presidency

The Presidency has condemned the attack Saturday on travellers passing through Jos, the Plateau State Capital, saying that the incident was a well-conceived and prearranged assault on a known target.

This assertion was contained in a statement issued by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity) in which the presidency stated that the location and religious persuasion of the victims showed that it was not an opportunist ambush.

While it regretted the reported deaths of at least 22 persons with several others injured in that ambush on their travelling party, the statement added: “It is widely known that Plateau State has been one of the states affected by herder-farmer clashes, which have, in a significant way, been curtailed following the intense peace-building efforts of the administration of Governor Simon Lalong.

“However, to be clear, this is not an agriculturalist-on-pastoralist confrontation – but rather a direct, brazen and wickedly motivated attack on members of a community exercising their rights to travel freely and to follow the faith of their choosing.

“With the evident preparedness of their attackers, it is clear this was a well-conceived and prearranged assault on a known target, location and religious persuasion of the travellers not an opportunist ambush.

“The Presidency offers condolences to the families of the victims and continues to liaise closely with the local authorities – including security, the police, and governmental agencies.

“These kinds of attacks on our country’s citizens are unacceptable, heinous, and stand in complete contradiction to the teachings of the great religions of our nation.

“The Presidency stands steadfast with both Christians and Muslims at this time in condemnation of this latest attack and expects and insists that justice is swiftly – but fairly – delivered to the perpetrators.

The statement quoted President Muhammadu Buhari as saying: “Make no mistake about it: in line with my commitment to protect all Nigerians, I have ordered our security agencies to fish out the perpetrators of this gruesome massacre of innocent travellers and bring them to justice.”

It added: “As the facts of the sad incident continue to unfold, the Presidency commends the ongoing efforts by the Governors of Plateau, Bauchi, and Ondo; the Sultan of Sokoto His Eminence Sa’ad Abubakar III and Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi as well as a number of notable Christian and Muslim leaders as they intensify efforts to calm down the situation.”

 (Courtesy Sunday Tribune)