Plateau killings: ‘Monitor clerics’ sermons’ — APC chieftain on how to avoid future crises

A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Ambassador Abayomi Nurain Mumuni, has advised the Federal Government and security agencies to monitor the sermons delivered by religious leaders, especially in Plateau State, to avoid needless crises.

DAILY POST recalls that no fewer than 163 people have been killed in the last two weeks in the state when some gunmen invaded two local government areas of Barkin-Ladi and Bokkos, killed several people and destroyed property worth millions of naira on Christmas Eve.

In a statement issued and made available to DAILY POST on Tuesday through his media aide, Rasheed Abubakar, he said: “The roles that some religious and ethnic leaders play in this crisis are also condemnable. My investigations into the Plateau crisis show that some religious scholars preach hate to their followers. That is so ungodly, and they should stop. The government must also rise to monitor and manage the kind of sermons pushed out by religious leaders.

“It is hate sermons that incite people to reprisal attacks, which have been identified as a major highlight in the Plateau crisis. We must at all times preach tolerance and understanding. I believe the establishment of state police will do more to reveal and investigate the local issues surrounding the constant attacks in Plateau.

“The crisis in Plateau State is not new, and it has multiple dimensions. There is a long, deep-seated ethno-religious rivalry in that state. There is also the herders-farmers dimension to the killings reported in the state. The crisis has turned out to be what the people are accustomed to. There is therefore a need for local intelligence and an approach to tackle the crisis. Given this, I want to urge the Federal Government, ably led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the National Assembly to revisit the calls for state police in Nigeria.

“Apart from engendering true federalism in the country, which the President has consistently identified with, the establishment of state police tends to tackle most of our security challenges in Nigeria. This is because these security challenges are rooted in local matters such as distrust between two ethnic, religious, or even economic groups.”