Report on how to end Plateau crisis emerges

By Kingsley Chukwuka

The 36 man Committee members inaugurated by the Special Military Task Force in Plateau State has finally come up with 94 pages report recommendation on how to end the over 20 years crisis which started in 2001.

Recall that the Task Force Commander, Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Ali, on September 11 2021 inaugurated a Peace Committee at the Operations Headquarters in Jos.

The Committee was to recommend measures to be taken to find a lasting solution to the incessant clashes and killings among various ethnic groups in Plateau.

However, receiving the report Saturday in Jos, Gen. Ali said lasting peace can only be achieved through alternative dispute resolution by aggrieved parties.

The Commander said he deemed it necessary to inaugurate the 36 member Committee with representatives from Irigwe, Fulani, Bache, Dong, Gyel, Hausa and Anaguta communities in Bassa, Jos North and Jos South LGAs.

According to Task Force boss: “The Committee’s task was very demanding and all encompassing and they have worked assiduously leading to the final stage of submitting a report.

“I am delighted to receive the report of the Committee containing carefully fashioned modalities that will assist the Task Force, Plateau State Government and other security agencies in achieving our mandate of ensuring lasting peace on the Plateau”, Gen. Ali said.

Earlier in his remarks, the Committee Chairman, Prince Robert Ashi, revealed that the Committee consulted extensively and received support from critical stakeholders in the State, adding that the Committee took into account the multi-faceted issues challenging peaceful co-existence in the affected communities.

“It was a wisdom to set up this Committee: the Committee was based on non kinetic. Everybody was given the opportunity to air their voice. We looked at the root cause of the crisis and found out that it was multifaceted”, Ashi said.

However, Gen. Ali has promised to implement the Committee report after a careful study of it with further consultation of all relevant stakeholders.