The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has stated the assassinations in Jos, Plateau State.
The coalition claimed on Thursday that the recent highway attack and deaths by the Irigwe militia are part of a concerted massive plot to give the crisis a religious tinge to fuel more strife in the North.
Plateau State has been shut down in recent days, according to the Daily Post, following the recent massacre of some passengers by unidentified gunmen. During the attack, almost 40 people were killed.
The massacre of over 36 inhabitants of Yelwa Zangam village, Jos North Local Government Area, exacerbated the turmoil in Plateau on Wednesday.
In a statement issued by its spokesman, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, CNG warned the perpetrators of highway murders and their supporters that Nigerians’ patience had run out and that any additional ambush or attack would not be accepted.
They requested that criminals who block and kill innocent people on public highways such as the Rukuba junction in Gada Biyu, the Abuja and Barikin Ladi roads in Plateau State, and other locations in Kaduna and Benue states be investigated, arrested, and prosecuted immediately.
The Northern organizations also requested that those charged with the mass murder of innocent Nigerians be tried in special courts.
CNG also demanded a complete probe into the responsibilities played by Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu and Matthew Hasan Kukah, Catholic Bishop of the Sokoto Diocese, in fueling the flames of violence in northern Nigeria.
“We demand a thorough investigation, arrest and diligent prosecution of the criminals that block and kill innocent travelers on such public highways as the Rukuba junction in Gada biyu, Abuja and Barikin Ladi roads in Plateau State and other locations in Kaduna and the Benue States,” the statement reads in part.
“We demand the promulgation of special penal laws for the punishment of such offenses that involve the ambush and killings of innocent public highway users.
“We demand the setting up of special courts for the trial of those involved in such unjustifiable blockade and mass murder of innocent civilians.
“We demand action from the federal government to ensure a permanent end to the incessant highway attacks including the arrest of traditional rulers and all elected representatives from the communities that harbor the terrorists, and where resistance is shown, the communities be demolished and replaced by military posts.
“We demand a full investigation into the roles being played by the utterances of such leaders as Akeredolu and Kukah in fanning the embers of violence in parts of northern Nigeria and elsewhere.”
