A retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG), Dabup Makama, has claimed that security agencies in Plateau State were alerted to the Christmas eve attacks on villages in Bokkos and Barkin Ladi local government areas of the state ahead of the incident but the intelligence was ignored.
Makama, who is the current Coordinator of Operation Rainbow in the state, blamed the security agencies of their failure to rise to their primary responsibility of securing lives and property of the people of the state.
The retired senior officer, who said this in a statement on Saturday, disclosed that that the primary role of Operation Rainbow is to complement the efforts of the formal security forces in the state by providing timely intelligence through their desk officers at the local government level, which is then channeled to the appropriate quarters.
“It is a very sad situation because before this massacre of our people, the Operation Rainbow intelligence report alerted the formal security forces in the state of what was about to happen, regrettably our people were killed in hundreds and the formal security forces did nothing to avert this killing,” he said.
We lost 350 members to Plateau killings in 3 months – Fulani groups
Plateau: Normalcy returns to Bokkos after burning of District Head’s house
Makama commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for sending Vice President Kashim Shettima and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, for on the ground assessment of the level of destruction and killing of innocent people in the state.
“This is terrorism at the highest level and perpetrators must be brought to book. For us to have a lasting solution to insecurity that Plateau State is currently facing, President Tinubu should mandate holistic investigation of the complicity of the security forces in the State and the finding should be made public.
“The Governor, His Excellency, Dr Caleb Mutfwang has ordered the deployments of the trained 600 people, who are going to be identified by their uniforms as Operation Rainbow’s Neighbourhood Operatives, to commence the internal first-line defense of their various Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state,” he said.
The retired AIG stated that Governor Mutfwang had promised that his government would acquire gadgets to boost the efforts of Operation Rainbow in combating insecurity and ensuring the safety of the good people of Plateau State.
“With the increasing death toll in the recent attacks, the state government and security forces are striving to bring to an end the nightmare of insecurity that has plagued Plateau State. The deployment of Operation Rainbow, along with the additional officers, signifies a united front against the threat to the peace and well-being of the residents.
“As the call for full investigation into the Christmas killings takes the centre stage, it is hoped that those responsible will be brought to justice, and measures will be implemented to prevent future tragedies,” he added.
