Plateau killings: Bring perpetrators to book, compensate loses, Islamic Movement tells FG

WORRIED by the recent killings in Plateau and other states of the federation, the Islamic Movement of Nigeria on Tuesday asked the Federal Government to investigate the killings, prosecute perpetrators, collaborators and sponsors and to also compensate the losses accordingly.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja, the Zaria Co-ordinator of the Movement, Professor Isa Hassan-Enua Mshelgaru condemned the killings, sympathised with the families of the victims and called for justice for all, irrespective of religious affiliation, ethnic, political and ideological beliefs.

While noting that the Movement is concerned with the loss of lives of innocent Nigerians, destruction of properties, the miserable conditions of families of victims and the future of the country, Prof. Mshelgaru urged the President Muhammadu Buhari led the administration to find out the motives behind the intermittent, systematic and prolonged massacre of Nigerians.

“What we are currently facing is not only bloodletting but a changing dimension and complexity in security challenge, which goes progressively in both intensity and extent, with the number of deaths on the increase.

“If the objectives of the dreaded Boko Haram are believed to be creating an Islamic state, what can one say are the objectives of the bandits ransacking and wantonly destroying villages, murdering and dispersing their occupants”, he asked and added that the killings are unnecessary, avoidable and meaningless for the purpose of coexistence in a multi-ethnic, multi-culture and multi-religious society like Nigeria.

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Prof Mshelgaru noted that the Islamic Movement in Nigeria is one of the most hit communities by the state of insecurity in the country and advanced families of violence victims to avoid retaliation but to seek redress and justice in peaceful and legal ways, just like the Movement is doing, without any form of reprisal.

The Islamic Movement of Nigeria, he said, is demanding the immediate stop to the killings and that the Federal Government should commence the investigation of the killings, including those of the North East and Aba, prosecute all perpetrators, collaborators and sponsors, whether they are local or foreign and to compensate loses accordingly.