Inuwa Yahaya cautions against reprisal attacks in Plateau

Inuwa Yahaya, governor of Gombe, says communities in Plateau state should  shun reprisal attacks, after the Christmas Eve’s incident.

Yahaya, who is also the chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, spoke with journalists on Thursday after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the State House in Abuja.

On Christmas Eve, gunmen attacked some communities in Bokkos and Barikin-Ladi LGAs of Plateau state and killed over 115 persons, while many house were destroyed.

Many residents were also displaced from their homes.

Yahaya said reprisals have never helped to restore peace in the past, urging Nigerians to imbibe the habit of loving one another for the progress of the nation.

“Despite the fact that this matter has been there for long, it is time for stakeholders to have a roundtable and tell each other the truth and then take deliberate steps toward loving each other,” Yahaya said.

“Before now, the people were living in peace and going about their normal businesses.

“Some of the major issues that seem to allow the problem to persist include issues like farmer-herder clashes and the clamor for indigenes versus settlers.

“But the world over, if any society or country doesn’t welcome visitors, such a nation will not progress. After all, we here are one and the same family.

“Therefore, we are commiserating with those who lost their loved ones. There should be no reason why anyone should go and kill or take the life of a fellow human being since it is not a war situation.

“Reprisal attacks have not taken us anywhere, so what we need to concentrate on doing is understanding ourselves and knowing that we have leaders at all levels to whom we can lodge our complaints.

“We should imbibe the habit of loving one another and living in peace for the progress of all of us.”