RELIGIOUS HATE: 22 Muslim travellers killed, 14 injured by extremist Irigwe youths of Jos North
*Plateau State Police confirms incident
*’CAN stood with killers over Gen Alkali’
By KEMI KASUMU
What looks like deliberate attempt to cause a setback for the progress being made to end insecurity in the country occurred Saturday, when a violent extremist group, believed to be the Irigwe youths of Jos North in Plateau State, launched calculated attacks on a convoy of five buses conveying Muslim faithful returning from an Islamic outing in Bauchi State traveling across Jos to Ikare, Ondo State, killing 22 occupants and injuring 14 of them.
The attacks happened along Rukuba Road of Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State on Saturday 14 August, 2021 in a state, where an Islamic Imam, Abubakar, saved 300 Christians of the same community of these killers of Muslims from being slaughtered by bandits, few years back.
The DEFENDER reports that the same Jos youths, known to be parading themselves as Christian youths having once been backed by Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), are believed to continue to be influenced by undying tendencies for religious hate since they killed former Director of Administration Nigerian Army, Major General Idris Alkali on his way to farm in a manner that is yet wished away, either by the Army or any sincere member of the Nigerian Muslim Ummah.
Information available to us shows that due to resistance by CAN, none of General Alkali’s suspected killers is known to have been properly tried or sentenced.
The latest development coming again from the same set of people has been interpreted to mean that since they were not brought to justice for killing General Alkali, they could always have the gut to do more.
Hence, we gathered, their prepared mind lately to sabotage the effort of the Federal and state governments at ending insecurity through unification of citizens across religious and ethnic backgrounds for peace and development of the society.
The Nigerian Police Force, Plateau State Command has, however, confirmed the sad event, saying, “Upon receipt of the report, a team of Police personnel, the military and other sister agencies were immediately mobilised to the scene where twenty one (21) victims were rescued and six suspects arrested.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Ubah Gabriel Ogaba, made the confirmation in a statement he issued in Jos, the state capital on Saturday.
The Plateau State Commissioner of Police, CP Edward Egbuka, along with the General officer Commanding (GOC) Third Armoured Division, Jos, Major General Ibrahim Ali, also visited the scene and ordered for a discreet investigation to fish out other perpetrators of the barbaric act at large, the state Police command said in a statement obtained by The DEFENDER Saturday night.
The report however said normalcy had returned to the area even as the CP warned that those that perpetrated “this dastardly act & others that incited it, will be made to face the full wrath of the law.”
According to the statement, the Command urges the public to remain calm and to furnish the Police with useful information that will aid the investigation.
