The Nigerian Democracy Watch encouraged Mr. Bartholomew Onyenka, the commissioner of police in Plateau State, yesterday to put an end to the recent wave of attacks and violence in the region rather than becoming personally involved in settling the political conflict in the state’s local government councils.
It will be recalled that mobile policemen were deployed to all the local government areas in Plateau State, following the suspension of the former Chairmen by Governor Caleb Mutfwang, upon the resolution of the State House of Assembly.
Reacting to the development, The Nigerian Democracy Watch, in a statement, expressed concern over the spate of attacks on the Plateau that have led to the death of almost 500 persons in the last few weeks.
Noting that the capacity of the police may have been further reduced by the incursion into political engagements, the NDW in a statement by its national coordinator, Imman Onyi urged the police to put its focus on securing lives instead of what it described as the phantom pursuit for political equilibrium.
Onyi said: “We are concerned that the police has deployed a sizeable proportion of its men to seal the Local Government secretariats on the Plateau at a time these men should be involved in protecting lives and property.
“The seeming haste and efficacy by the police in deploying men to seal local government secretariats should rather have been used to arrest the bandits and marauders who have cut down the lives of nearly 500 people on the Plateau this year.
“While we commend the police on its efforts so far, we believe that the police will do better in redeploying its men from the local government secretariats to vulnerable areas on the Plateau as an opening may have inadvertently been given to the bandits by this political deployment.”