False information fueling crisis in Plateau – Military Taskforce

By Kingsley Chukwuka

The Special Military Task Force in Plateau State, code named Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) has said false information peddled on social media are responsible for the crisis hitherto being witnessed in the State.

The taskforce saddled with the responsibility to restore peace in the State, said stakeholders who are supposed to help in dousing tension are the once peddling all sorts of rumors capable of throwing the State into another round of crisis.

Our correspondent recalls that no fewer than seven persons were killed as gunmen suspected to be herders, weekend, attacked hamlets in Miango, Irigwe chiefdom in Bassa Local Government Area.

Several persons were also injured in the attack, which also led to buildings being razed by the invaders.

However, since the attack several figures of unconfirmed death tolls  have continued to dominate the media, which last night angered youths to engage in reprisal, leaving two trucks burnt in the city center of Jos North LGA.

The OPSH swift in their response deployed personnel to restore normalcy in the affected area of Gada-biyu and its environs.

When contacted the Spokesman for the Taskforce Major Ishaku Takwa told our correspondent that the figure of numbers of deaths in Irigwe chiefdom claimed by some people does not exist, adding that personnel of the Force were deployed to Bassa to restore normalcy.

“Even the night after the attack, Commander deployed a battalion of army to the area to patrol throughout the night, so where are people getting their figures from. Where are the graves claimed to have accommodated those numbers of deaths?”, Takwa queried.

However Governor Simon Lalong reacting to the incident enjoined residents to be calm, saying that the situation has been brought under control.

Lalong in a statement titled Jos Is Calm, No Cause For Alarm As Normalcy Is Restored To Gada Biyu, said the breach of peace reported around Gada Biyu, Jos North LGA has been put under control following swift response by security agencies.

According to the statement signed by the Governor’s Director of Press and Public Affairs, Dr. Makut Macham, Lalong said the security personnel responded to the incident where some youths reportedly obstructed traffic and set ablaze two trucks on the highway.

“The intervention of the security personnel immediately brought the situation under control as the youths were dispersed and the road cleared, thereby restoring traffic flow.

“With the return of normalcy around Gada Biyu and environs, the Government is urging citizens to avoid any act that could lead to the breakdown of law and order”, the statement reads.

Our correspondent reports that security forces have continued their operations to dominate areas affected by recent attacks in Bassa and Riyom LGAs with a view to restoring normalcy and arresting perpetrators as directed by the Governor after an emergency Security Council Meeting held on Tuesday.