THE Plateau State Government said there would have been more casualties if the state government had not imposed curfew in the troubled part of the state.

Scores had been killed in some parts of the state within the past one month, while the state government had imposed a 24-hour curfew in Jos North to contain increasing security threat in the area.

The state Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dan Manjang, said without the curfew by the state government, everybody would have been on the street to take the life of each other.

Manjang, who spoke on an Arise Television programme, ‘The Morning Show’, was reacting to the claim by the President of Irigwe Youth Movement, Ezekiel Bini, that the curfew imposed by the state government had not stopped the killing of his (Bini) people.

The commissioner, who said government was working round the clock to ensure that peace prevailed in the state, insisted that the curfew helped to keep troublemakers in check.

He said, “I can tell you that if we had not imposed the curfew, it would have been a free for all. The amount of casualties would have been more than what it is now. Everybody would have been on the street to take the life of each other.

“As far as government is concerned, the curfew helped to keep people in check. It is unfortunate that people were killed during the curfew time; they were not massacred (contrary to claims). The curfew gave security agencies the chance to take charge, to occupy the areas in question.”

Bini, who also spoke during the programme, said he escaped assassination on three occasions by gunmen, which he maintained, were Fulani persons.

According to the Irigwe youth leader, the Fulani should leave their communities, because the Irigwe people do not share boundaries with them.

“Even when people were being killed and houses were burnt, the MOPOL there will tell you that they’ve not been given order to act.

“It got to a point that the only thing they (MOPOL) could do was to evacuate people and then run away and give the attackers the opportunity to set almost the entire village ablaze,” he added.

Don’t destroy Plateau, Lalong’s kinsmen warn ambitious politicians

Meanwhile, Governor Lalong’s kinsmen on Thursday warned politicians not to destroy the state because of their ambition ahead of the 2023 general elections.

The kinsmen under the auspices of the Gamai All Progressives Congress and Stakeholders’ Forum issued this warning on the heels of the growing wave of attacks and killings in many communities of the state, which left no fewer than 100 people dead with several properties destroyed.

READ ALSO $418m judgment debt: Reps minority berates Buhari, Malami

Lalong’s kinsmen gave the warning at a press conference in Jos on Thursday.

The Chairman of the Gamai Forum and former Secretary to the State Government, Kevin Kwaplong, who led other stakeholders to the  NUJ State Secretariat to deliver the address, said, “I want you to know that we have entered campaign period for the 2023.

“Things went wrong because of the ambition of the political class and we hope that they will realise that Plateau state belongs to all of us and if we destroy it, we are destroying ourselves.”

PDP lawmakers distance selves from confidence vote in Lalong

Meanwhile, nine members of the PDP in the state House of Assembly distanced themselves from the vote of confidence in the governor over the security situation in the state.

The lawmakers made their position known at a press conference in Jos on Thursday addressed by the party’s Information Desk Officer and lawmaker representing Lantang North Central Constituency, Daniel Nanbol.

Plateau remains home for all, says Nasarawa

However, the Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has declared that Plateau State remained a home for all Nigerians.

Sule spoke on Thursday when he led a high powered delegation to Plateau State Government House to commiserate with the government and the people over the recent attacks in the state, Lalong’s Director of Press and Public Affairs, Macham Makut, said in a statement after the visit.

Responding, Lalong thanked the government and people of Nasarawa State for their support and solidarity, which affirmed the eternal bond between the two states.