50 killed in one week as Plateau youths demand justice, state police

…Say hundreds displaced; seek more DSS deployment to troubled communities

By Golok Nanmwa, JOS

Indigenous youth associations in Plateau State on Wednesday said no fewer than 50 persons have been killed within one week in renewed attacks on communities in Riyom and Bassa Local Government Areas, with hundreds of residents displaced, as they called on the Federal Government to ensure justice for victims and fast-track the establishment of state police.

The groups also appealed to the Federal Government to deploy more operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, to vulnerable communities, saying the agency’s intelligence-driven operations had yielded positive results in curbing attacks.

The demands were contained in a communiqué presented at a joint press conference in Jos by the Afizere, Anaguta, Atakar, Aten, Berom, Irigwe, Kulere, Mushere, Mwaghavul, Pan and Ron Youth Associations.