…As Clark accepts apology from police***

Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Solomon Dalung, Friday, called for State of Emergency in Plateau and other troubled states to check the persistent killing of innocent people in the affected states.

Dalung, who made call when he fielded questions from State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, condemned the renewed killing of people in some local government areas of Plateau in the past days. He said the situation was worrisome and had become imparative for President Muhammadu Buhari to impose state of emergency in Plateau, Benue, Zamfara and Taraba so as to put a stop to the unwarranted killings in the states. He frowned at those apportioning blame on the federal government over the persistent crisis in the Plateau, saying that the state and local government authorities should be held responsible for the problem.

According to him, “Collapse of local government administration had contributed immensely to the inability of the security personnel to arrest the problems. “The Plateau crisis can be traced to many years of inaction by previous and current administrations in Plateau state despite the Federal Government’s efforts to address the problem. “It is disheartening that Plateau state has been witnessing killings of innocent citizens in the last four to five days and this is very annoying and disturbing to the government and inhabitants of the state. “I alerted the Federal Executive Council on Sept. 5 on the need to take drastic and emergency measures to tackle the crisis because the local and state governments have failed in their responsibility of offering useful information to security agents despite the huge resources being spent on security. “It has therefore become imperative for the federal government to declare state of emergency in Plateau and other troubled states across the country so as to put a stop to the killings.”

Dalung warned that nobody should politicize the killing of innocent Nigerians as the federal government was doing all it could to bring the perpetrators of the heinous crime to book. He further stated that the government had already put in place measures to check cases of insecurity, adding that Nigeria needed peace and stability for the country to progress and achieve meaningful development. He said, “But security personnel alone cannot achieve much in addressing the problem without the support and cooperation of the state and local governments as well as the local communities “There is the need for collaboration between all the three tiers of government, the local communities and Youth Councils in order to find a lasting solution to the crisis.” The Sportd Ministers l identifier lack of strong and dedicated leadership at both local and state levels as main factor responsible for the inability of the combined efforts of the security personnel to check the killings in Plateau, Benue, Taraba, Zamfara and other troubled states.

He, therefore, advocated for the re-reintroduction of Crises Resolution Committee at the local government level. He explained that the committee’s membership should be drawn from religious bodies, traditional institution, Cattle Breeders’ Association, farmers’ organisations, women and youth organisations. On the chances of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winning the 2019 presidential election, Dalung said the party’s presidential candidate, Buhari, had no serious challenger from the opposition parties. According to him, no Nigerian politician in recent history is as popular and admirable as President Buhari, adding that the president has millions of votes already guaranteed him by his `traditional and die-hard’ supporters come Feb. 2019. Dalung also dismissed the insinuation that President Buhari was desperate for power, saying that the president was only interested addressing the nation’s socio-economic challenges for the general good of the country

In the meantime, former Federal Commissioner for Information and South South Leader, Chief Edwin Clark whose Asokoro residence was raided by the Police, for alleged possession of arms and ammunition, yesterday said that the sacking of those policemen who carried out the act was not enough if future occurrences must be averted as they must not be made to serve as scapegoats.

In a statement he personally signed yesterday in Abuja, the Elder Statesman  called on the Inspector – General of Police, Ibrahim Idris to carry out a holistic investigation into the matter, with a view to getting those involved and bring them to book, adding that the dismissed police men could not have acted  without directives from a superior officer. Chief Clark who noted that someone was involved in getting the Search warrant prior to the incident, however expressed his profound gratitude to all over the  show of empathy since the incident.

The Elder Statesman said, “As a father of the nation, now at the age of nearly 92 years,  I have accepted the apology from the Police authorities, which has now been made public as I demanded. For the upholding of justice and fairness, the young officers who came to my residence, must not be made scape-goats. Merely sacking the officers concerned, when they were indeed carrying out official instructions, is not enough, if we are to avert such occurrences in future.

Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim Kputom Idris last night  ordered the immediate disbandment of the IGP Special Tactical Squad (IGP-STS) and the redeployment of all the personnel of the squad to other departments/formations of the Force following the raid on Clark’s house. Senior Officers attached to the erstwhile Special Tactical Squad (STS) who were linked with the raid on Edwin Clark’s residence in  in Asokoro on  September 4, 2018 are now undergoing strict disciplinary procedures. According to a statement from  Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police, Jimoh Moshood, “The tactical operations and statutory core Police duties that the dissolved Special Tactical Squad (STS) were charged with are now collapsed and will be carried out by other operational, investigative and response units of the Force.This dissolution of the Special Tactical Squad (STS) is with immediate effect.”

Vanguard