Governor Caleb Muftwang of Plateau State has publicly apologised to the people of Bassa Local Government Area (LGA) following the brutal killing of 51 residents in the Zikke community on Monday.
The attack, which also left homes razed and dozens displaced, came barely two weeks after a similar assault claimed scores of lives in Bokkos LGA.
During a condolence visit to the palace of the Paramount Ruler in Miango on Tuesday, Governor Muftwang expressed deep sorrow over the government’s inability to prevent the latest tragedy.
“I will tell you the truth: I have been crying since yesterday because I had trusted God that all the arrangements were put in place, that this will not happen again. We have made investments in security,” he said.
“But like all human arrangements, sometimes they fail. I want to admit that on Sunday night into Monday morning, we failed you. Please, forgive me.”
He called on residents to remain vigilant and continue working alongside security agencies by providing useful intelligence to help expose criminal elements behind the attacks.
The governor was accompanied by security chiefs and members of the state executive council as he visited the affected community, commiserated with victims’ families, and witnessed the mass burial of those killed in the early morning assault.
The Paramount Ruler of Irigwe land, Ronku Aka, known as the Brangwe of Irigwe, used the occasion to appeal for government intervention through the provision of critical social amenities in the area.
Despite repeated attacks over the years, the recent spike in violence has renewed fears in the North-Central state long plagued by communal unrest.
President Bola Tinubu has since directed security agencies to identify and bring to justice the perpetrators, describing the killings as unacceptable.
While some analysts continue to trace the crisis to protracted farmer-herder conflicts, Governor Muftwang insists the motive is far more sinister.
According to him, over 64 communities in Plateau State have now been forcefully occupied by armed groups, calling the violence “sponsored and genocidal.”
