Punch
The Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Wase… alleged that some personnel of the military and paramilitary agencies were aiding and abetting criminals.
The Deputy Speaker said there was an early warning about the attacks on Plateau communities, which he raised on the floor of the House via a motion and which was debated by the lawmakers.
He said, “I have visited where I am not supposed to go because I believe I have the responsibility as a leader to go and make a case and present – write letters – informing these security agencies of what is going on in the area. In my own village alone, 32 houses are housing displaced persons. My primary school has been taken over.”
Wase said it had been discovered that more attacks were recorded in communities with higher economic potential, especially where there were natural resources.
He faulted figures being quoted as the number of those killed, noting that there had been mass burials while bodies were being picked from the forests.
Wase said, “In my own community, we had a soldier who was supposed to be in Zamfara given a pass consecutively for six months. He was arrested (for) giving uniforms to the bandits. Till this moment, he has not been ‘court-martialed’. If his station was in Zamfara and he was found in Plateau at the same time, who was giving him the pass and what is their interest in giving a security agent a six-month pass?
“Another one was arrested from the same community with ammunition. Until this moment, I don’t know… Even when we raised the motion, it was sufficient for the security (agencies) to act but they were adamant.
“Among the people that were arrested were their (attackers’) informants and collaborators. One was communicating with them (community) from the detention camp and telling them (the people) that he was going to go out. At the end of the day, he got out. When he got out, his wife was arrested with drugs.”
