‘I thought we had gone past the dark era of profiling, slaughtering travellers’ – Dalung
A former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalong has condemned the recent killings in parts of Plateau state, saying he believed the country had moved beyond the “dark era of profiling citizens on highways and slaughtering innocent travellers.”
Dalung, in a statement on Tuesday, described as barbaric and unacceptable the killing of four young traders at Dorowa Babuje in Barakin Ladi Local Government Area on Feb. 23.
“I thought we had gone past the dark era of profiling citizens on highways and slaughtering innocent travellers simply because they share an ethnic or religious identity,” he said.
He lamented that the victims, who were reportedly on their way to Pankshin Monday Market, were singled out and killed, adding that the incident followed an attack on a hotel in the same community a day earlier in which nine persons reportedly lost their lives.
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Dalung also referred to reports of three young Fulani herdsmen who were said to have gone missing and were later found dead, warning that such incidents were fueling a dangerous cycle of reprisals across the state.
“It is barbaric, criminal and utterly unacceptable to block highways and murder innocent citizens who know nothing about the conflicts fueling these attacks. Collective punishment is not justice; it is savagery. Two wrongs can never make a right,” he said.
While acknowledging the right of communities to defend themselves when attacked, Dalung stressed that vengeance against harmless travellers would only deepen divisions and multiply grief.
He urged security agencies to rise to their constitutional responsibility of protecting lives and property and ensure that those responsible for the killings were identified and brought to justice.
The former minister extended his condolences to the families of the victims and called on residents of Plateau to break the cycle of retaliation.
“Plateau has suffered enough. It is time to give peace a genuine chance,” he said.