Rukuba killings: Lalong promises to deal with peddlers of misinformation
Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau has vowed to deal with promoters of false information on social media targeted at inciting crises in the state.
“We will not allow religious crisis in the state. People should stop sending wrong messages. Many of the issues that happened are as a result of that.
“I assure you that we are going after those people sending wrong messages leading to the killing of people,” Mr Lalong added.
The governor stated this while briefing newsmen on Monday after an assessment tour and visit to some injured victims of the August 14 massacre along Rukuba Road in Jos North Local Government.
Mr Lalong expressed displeasure over the use of social media platforms by those he called merchants of conflict since the attack, saying the government would arrest and deal with them to serve as a deterrent to others.
He stressed that the massacre, which was perpetrated by criminals, has unfortunately been given an ethnoreligious colouration to destroy the relative peace enjoyed in the state.
The governor’s criticism of the reporting style of the massacre by the media, follows President Buhari’s spokespersons Garba Shehu description of the killings as a premeditated assault based on the victim’s religion.
Mr Lalong said that the federal government had deployed more policemen and other security agencies to control the situation, while arrests have been made as the investigation continues.
“This is a clear warning to everybody who will want to use this opportunity to bring back what we have already forgotten. This is the time to deal with such people no matter their status,” he stressed.
The governor said the visit was to monitor the level of compliance with the 24-hour curfew imposed by the government to enable security agencies to fish out perpetrators of the crime.
He sympathised with those affected by the incident and assured people that the government was committed to ending the security challenges in the state.
The governor, along with heads of security agencies in the state, visited patients of the massacre on admission at Birmingham University Teaching Hospital and Plateau Specialist Hospital.
The governor had, on August 14, imposed a curfew from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. in Jos South, Bassa, and Jos North Local Government Areas.
The curfew was later reviewed to 24 hours in Jos North LGA.
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