Monday 23 September 2013

Police arrest 40 suspects over Nasarawa crisis

The Police in Nasarawa State on
Monday confirmed the arrest of no fewer
than 40 suspects in connection with the
recent ethnic clashes in the state. Also The Minister of Information, Mr
Labaran Maku, says the military intervention
in parts of Nasarawa State is successful and
yielding positive results. The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr
Umar Shehu, told newsmen in Lafia that the
police also recovered weapons and charms
from the suspects. He disclosed that the police had also
discovered a shallow grave at Tudun Adabu
in the Obi Local Government Area of the
state, where Alhaji Alhassan Gidado,
Managing Director of the Police Community
Bank, Tunde Banwo and their driver, Aliyu Adamu, were buried after they were killed. He said the trio were declared missing on
Sept. 14, having left Abuja on Sept. 13, to
attend a wedding in the Keana Local
Government Area of Nasarawa State but
that they could not reach their destination. The commissioner said that the suspects
directly linked to the killing of the bank
chief were among those arrested by the
police, while their remains had been
unearthed for proper burial. Shehu said that all the arrested suspects
would be made to face the full wrath of the
law. According to him, the police will not relent
in their efforts to ensure that lasting peace
was restored to the affected communities. He assured the people of the state that
adequate security measures had been put in
place to checkmate the nefarious activities
of the militia group trying to make the state
unsafe. The commissioner urged those who fled
their homes to return as the police and
other security agencies would do everything
to allay their fears and guarantee their
safety. He also urged members of the public to
report any suspicious movement in their
neighbourhood to security agencies for
prompt action. The renewed ethnic crisis had erupted in Obi
and Lafia Local Government Areas of the
state between Sept. 12 and Sept 13, leaving
over 30 persons killed with properties worth
millions of naira destroyed. Consequently, the State Government
imposed a partial ban on the use of
motorcycles in seven Local Government
Areas of the state from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. The affected Local Governments are Awe,
Obi, Keana, Lafia, Doma, Nasarawa-Eggon and
Akwanga. Also The Minister of Information, Mr
Labaran Maku, says the military intervention
in parts of Nasarawa State is successful and
yielding positive results. Maku said this on Monday when he received
members of the Conference of Local
Governments PDP Secretaries from the
state, who visited him in his office in Abuja. He said normalcy was gradually returning to
the affected areas. The minister, who expressed optimism that
the violence would soon be permanently
tackled, said government would continue to
monitor the situation and make adjustments
where necessary. He said the Federal Government would work
with the relevant authorities at all levels to
ensure that those displaced by the crisis
return to their homes in the shortest
possible time. “We do not want to bring politics into what
is happening in Nasarawa State; I have
always advised politicians to be forthright in
all that they do. “We are happy so far with the results we
have got in the last few days of our
intervention and we are monitoring the
development very closely. “By the special grace of God sustainable
peace will definitely return to Nasarawa
State,’’ Maku said. He stressed the need for proper networking
to ensure that proponents of violence were
exposed and defeated in the interest of
peace and harmony in the state. The minister, who said that no ethnic group
could develop the state in isolation of the
others, called on political and traditional
leaders in the state to be united in the
interest of genuine development. He said that leaders at all levels must shun
violence and all forms of destructive
tendencies by their supporters. “There is no leader of substance that will
support the destruction of lives and
property anywhere. “No ethnic group in Nasarawa State is an
island; we must all work together for the
progress of our state. “We are calling on all communities to work
on their members to ensure that the
present spate of violence is tackled and
peace entrenched because government will
not tolerate destruction of lives and
property,’’ Maku said. He urged indigenes of the state to support
the transformation agenda of the Federal
Government so as to alleviate the sufferings
of the people of the state. Earlier, the Chairman of the conference, Mr
Sani Mohammed, had said that the group
was in the minister’s office to commiserate
with him over the loss of lives following
renewed clashes in the state. He said the group was in total support of
the measures taken by the Federal
Government to address the crisis. Mohammed condemned the recent call by
the All Progressive Congress (APC) for the
removal of Maku as the supervising Minister
of Defence. He said that APC’s demands were ill-
motivated and mischievous, stressing that
the minister’s portfolio would not in any
way interfere with the military intervention
in the state. The chairman called on Nigerians and the
Federal Government to disregard the call by
the party, saying that Maku was one of the
outstanding members of the present crop of
ministers. He added that the minister was the first
political office holder from the state to
condemn the existence and activities of the
Ombatse group. Mohammed called on all indigenes of the
state to continue to support the
programmes of the Federal Government in
the state. The secretaries of the party in 13 local
government areas of the state visited the
minister. (NAN)

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