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Missing Army General:
PIDAN calls for treatment of people around Du with dignity, commiserates with
other communities.
By Dickson Gupiya
October 20, 2018
The Plateau Initiative for Development and Advancement of
the Natives, (PIDAN), the umbrella body of all the Community Development
Associations in Plateau State has called on the army to treat members of Du
community in Jos South local government area with dignity. Dura Du has been
under military operations for some months in the wake of missing retired army
general IM Alkali whose car was allegedly traced to a pond in the area.
PIDAN statement which was signed by its Public Relations
Officer, Stephen Sarki Musa and a copy made available to African Drum sympathized and condoles with the families of all
those who lost their loved ones across the state in the recent crises. It also
sympathized with the citizens of the state for the traumatic conditions they
found themselves following the crises.
The statement further stated that PIDAN abhors any act or
acts capable of igniting or promoting crises and will therefore, not condoned
such acts by any group or groups of persons stressing that the State was under
a trying period therefore, it shall never support or encourage statements that
have the capacity to inflame embers of hatred and chaos.
It further condemned in its entirety, the killings of
innocent people, irrespective of their status, ethnic or religious backgrounds
and expressed its worry about statements credited to some religious bodies
following the ongoing investigations being carried out by the Military to
unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of Gen. Alkali and on the recent
killings in some parts of the state adding that it was not the time for any
group to begin to accuse one another of complicity and attributing it to some
‘’terrorists’’ and giving it religious colorations.
The statement further read
in parts; “more worrisome is the fact that these accusations are coming at the
time when the Military is yet to conclude investigations not to talk of making
its report known to the public.
“For the avoidance of doubts, it is a known fact that each
ethnic nationality of Plateau origin has families comprising of Christians,
Muslims and Traditionalists.
“While we support any actions taken by the respective
security outfit to dig into root causes the crises in the State, including the
Military operations in Dura-Du, such actions most have human face to avoid
traumatizing innocent citizens.
“In other words, we appeal to the Military to be diligent in
their investigations and treat the people around the area with dignity so that
the innocents are not unjustly treated, as alleged in the current situation.
Since the Military said they know and have the identity of the suspects, they
should go after them professionally and meticulously within the ambits of the
law, without creating fears and tension in people and their community. While we
call on the residents of Dura-Du to remain calm and cooperate with the military
in the ongoing investigations, PIDAN believes that in other to achieve this,
the Military should work in conjunction with the leadership of the community
for a more successful and collaborative
operation”.
PIDAN also called on the Plateau State Government to review
its security architecture for maximum results in the face of the recent crisis
and urged citizens to be vigilant, remain calm and be every one’s keeper, and
to also report all suspicious movements of people with questionable characters.
“These are difficult times; we must therefore avoid
spreading wild and unsubstantiated allegations and news, especially in the
social media. We should sustain our unity as a people and avoid divisive
tendencies.
“Once more, we condole and sympathize with the people who
have lost their loved ones in Dura-Du, Gada Biu, Angwan Rukuba and other areas
of the state. We pray and hope that Plateau shall rise again” said the
statement.
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