By Joseph Erunke – Abuja

A coalition of peace advocacy groups in Plateau State has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to order deployment of more troops to the state following renewed attacks and attendant reprisals by people it described as crisis merchants.

The group which described the actions of the actors as senseless, barbaric and reprehensible, appealed to security agencies to fish out those responsible and make them face the full wrath of the law.

While it commended Operation Safe Haven, especially its Commander for continuous quick response to distress calls and attacks,it flayed allegation of connivance levelled against the internal security outfit  and its Commander, noting that contrary to the allegation,OPSH and its Commander have done well in not only securing the lives and property of people but also on a mission to restore permanent peace in the state.

In a statement on Wednesday,the group operating under the aegis of Coalition of Plateau Peace Advocates,COPPA, said,”We,are therefore, appealing to President Muhammadu Buhari through the Chief of Defence Staff and the Chief of Army staff to deploy more troops to Plateau State.”

In the statement signed by its National Coordinator,Rev Elisha Gyang and National Secretary,Arch. Stephen Gya, respectively,the group called on people flying unsubstantiated allegations against OPSH and its Commander to apply caution in order not to worsen the already tensed atmosphere in the state.

It expressed worry over recent statement released by a group under the umbrella of Berom Youth Moulders Association and other faceless individuals, wherein the group did not only blame the recent crises in Berom land and other places to OPSH but accused it and its Commander of connivance with the attackers.

Recall that in the unsigned statement, the Berom youth group,had alleged that,”That there’s a continued onslaught of the Berom people which is being championed by the Fulanis and aided by the security agencies saddled with the responsibility to protect lives and property.”

According to the group,”Sadly, this carnage, genocide and wanton destruction of properties are being carried out in the very eyes of the personnel of the Operation Safe Haven whom government spends billions of tax payers money on their operation to protect lives and properties of all Nigerians.”

“Many instances, the military collaborates with the Fulanis to carry out these dastardly acts. The military’s direct participation on the destruction of Berom people’s farmlands and properties has at many times generated so many petitions, press conferences/releases and in some instances physical demonstrations by the Berom communities demanding for the removal of the Military,”the group had further alleged.

But in its statement, the Coalition of Plateau Peace Advocates which claimed to have carried out indebt investigation of crisis in the state, exonerated the internal military outfit and its Commander, saying rather than being blamed, they deserve accolades for standing up to their professional callings which they noted, was largely responsible for the level of peace and tranquility the people of the state were enjoying.

The statement by the Coalition of Plateau Peace Advocates, read in parts:”

We write to condemn the unwarranted killings, counter killings and destruction of property in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.

“We urge the security agencies to immediately bring the perpetrators to book.

“We, however, wish to state with a heavy heart and deep sense of patriotism that we condemn the unwarranted, wicked, barbaric and senseless attacks on the person of the new GOC 3 Division Jos and Commander Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) and the Military by some unscrupulous and faceless elements on social media which is aimed at misleading the good people of Plateau State on the true situation of happenings in the state.

“These  actions are not only callous and wicked but also strange to the good people of Plateau State, who are adjudged to be the most hospitable and caring people in the country.”

The group said,” Having reviewed and thoroughly investigated all the allegations of bias and incompetence contained in the several messages against the person of the GOC 3 Division Jos and Commander, Operation Safe Haven and the military outfits, we discovered that all the allegations are false in its entirety and are  only intended to demoralize the Commander and his troops to allow their criminal activities thrive in the state.”

“Given this, we in COPPA reject this act of deliberate and calculated blackmail and urge the good people of Plateau State and the general public to ignore this smear campaign.      

“We wish to state here without mincing word that the GOC who is only about three weeks old in the state, was only caught in the web of some criminals and crisis merchants from  both parties in the area who are bent on truncating the existing peace. As an indigenous

peace advocacy group, we wish to strongly advise that we blame ourselves for our inability to take certain actions towards arresting the ugly situation rather than heaping blame on someone else,”it added.

According to COPPA,,”Further investigation revealed that if not for the prompt kinetic and non-kinetic action of the G.O.C/ Commander, the crises would have consumed the whole Bassa Local Government and snowballed to other parts of the state in an unassuming proportion.”

“It is therefore wicked for some unscrupulous crisis entrepreneurs to accuse the G.O.C/Commander of bias.

“While not holding brief for Operation Safe Haven, as an indigenous peace building group in the state,we will not sit and watch innocent persons be roped into the unfortunate situation in the state,”it said.

COPPA said,”We know that most terrains in the state have  poor communication network, bad roads and high ground which make impossible for even any Army in the world to do magic when there is need for emergency response to attack.”

“With available information at our disposal, we wish to say that due  to lack of manpower in the country, troops cannot be stationed in every village. It is not practical.

“Most of the roads are unaccessible to vehicles, this practically makes it impossible for troops to respond with the speed expected of them,”it explained.

“We wish to state here that this smear campaign against the Commander and OPSH is calculated to tarnish the hard earned reputation of the person of the GOC 3 Division and Commander Operation Safe Haven, Major General IS Ali, who is a fine officer and a tested professional, well known to have bravely and gallantly fought  in defence of our country, both locally and internationally without blamish,”it added.

We are aware that the GOC 3 Division Jos, since his resumption in our dear state, has taken some far-reaching steps to stabilize Plateau State to the expectation of all.”

” We must, therefore, give him the necessary cooperation and support him to succeed and not resort to cheap campaign of calumny.

“The desperation of these blackmailers show that they have some sponsors somewhere.  We, therefore, urge them to stop this madness forthwith or we shall  investigate and expose them to the world,”it further said.