*Deny signing peace accord with Fulani herders in Plateau
The Irigwe people in Plateau State have denied any involvement in the recent killing of 22 commuters in Rukuba, Jos North Local Government Area of the State.
National President of Irigwe Development Association, Prince Robert Dodo, told journalists in Abuja, on Monday, that neither he nor his people were involved in the killing of the innocent souls in Jos, the state capital.
He also denied that Irigwe people signed a peace accord with Fulani herdsmen at the Plateau State Government House.
Dodo, who alleged that more than 70 people were recently killed and 505 houses and churches set ablaze in 13 Irigwe villages, called on both the state and the federal governments to probe the crisis in the area with a view to bringing the perpetrators to book.
He claimed that the utterances of the Police Public Relations Officer in Plateau, ASP Ubah Ogaba, which alleged that the Rukuba killings were carried out by Irigwe youths and mourners have caused a breach of the fragile peace in Plateau and fueled attendants reprisals on innocent communities.
Dodo, however, commended the Plateau Commissioner of Police, CP Edward Egbuka, for his mature reaction to the issue of the killings at Rukuba junction in Jos by countering his PPRO.
According to him, CP Egbuka had exonerated the Irigwe people when he said during a stakeholders meeting with Governor Simon Lalong that the unfortunate attack on the commuters was executed by miscreants who wanted to take advantage of the security situation in the state to “cause trouble and loot”.
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He said, “The change of narrative by the Commissioner of Police was to clear the air that the Irigwe mourners did not attack any of t he 22 slain commuters. Unfortunately, this is not enough damage control to the bad image already presented of the tribe, unless the same spokesman of Plateau State Police Command will use the same medium to debunk the picture he painted of Irigwe tribe.
“The past few weeks have been the worst nightmare for the entire Irigwe land. Despite the current efforts to restore peace, our people are still being killed and violently dispersed from their farms for no reason.
“Moreover, it is sad and painful that nobody to our knowledge has been arrested for the killing of Irigwe people. We are hoping that the government will find a way of arresting the criminals and stop the attacks on our people.”
