The reoccurrence of crisis on the Plateau has been blamed on the inability of those in authority to punish the perpetrators of the heinous crimes. Secretary of State Government in Plateau, Prof Shedrack Best was speaking while delivering an address at the University of Jos maiden peace seminar organised by the Centre for Conflicts Management and Peace Studies of the University and sponsored by the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Abuja.

He stated that it was a shame after about 12 years of the manifest and protracted conflict in Jos no one seems to be convicted. Speaking further, he stated that most groups and individuals indicted by several judicial commissions of enquiries for masterminding or kindling the crises in the State still move about freely. Best said that some of them celebrate the impunity, become big headed, boast openly, threaten Government on newspapers and other platforms and are always found on peace tables.

The reoccurrence of crisis on the Plateau has been blamed on the inability of those in authority to punish the perpetrators of the heinous crimes. Secretary of State Government in Plateau, Prof Shedrack Best was speaking while delivering an address at the University of Jos maiden peace seminar organised by the Centre for Conflicts Management and Peace Studies of the University and sponsored by the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Abuja.

He stated that it was a shame after about 12 years of the manifest and protracted conflict in Jos no one seems to be convicted. Speaking further, he stated that most groups and individuals indicted by several judicial commissions of enquiries for masterminding or kindling the crises in the State still move about freely. Best said that some of them celebrate the impunity, become big headed, boast openly, threaten Government on newspapers and other platforms and are always found on peace tables.

He blamed the menace on the criminal justice system and mechanisms that allows citizens to celebrate under the cover of ethnicity and religion to cover for criminal and conflict financiers. Best bemoaned the huge sums of monies allocated for security by both the State and Federal Governments have not yielded any positive results but instead have led to parallel security structures in the country. The SSG also kicked against the continuous centralization of security in the country as it makes the structure cumbersome. The Deputy Vice Chancellor overseeing Administration in the University, Professor Musa Ibrahim called on participants to provide solutions for conflicts avoidance and resolution.

By Augustine Ishaku

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Plateau SSG says impunity responsible for reoccurrence of crisis in the State