Plateau State Government as well as other stakeholders on Monday blamed the rising insurgency in the Southern part of the state on the influx of militiamen from Taraba and Nasarawa states.
The militiamen, they alleged, were promoting cross-border attacks on communities in the southern part of the state.
The six local governments in the senatorial zone have witnessed violent attacks and the imposition of an emergency rule, especially during the former Governor Joshua Dariye's administration.
However, in a communiqué on Monday, the Plateau State Deputy Governor, Ignatius Longjan, and other stakeholders after a meeting, expressed worry on the recent upsurge in violent attacks on the residents of the zone.
Longjan; Deputy Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mr. Johnbul Shekarau; and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Peace Building, Mr. Timothy Parlong, signed the communiqué.
They particularly noted that cow stealing had become very rampant and had caused the recent violence in the area.
The communique read, "The presence of heavily armed militiamen lurking within the vast forest around the borders of Taraba, Nasarawa and Plateau states, was promoting cross-border attacks on communities within the zone and called on the security agents to rise to the challenge of flushing them out."
The stakeholders noted with great concern the arrival of some illegal aliens in the zone and urged the relevant security agencies to identify and flush them out.
Acknowledging the presence of sophisticated weapons in the zone, they called on the owners of such weapons to surrender them to the relevant security agencies."
The stakeholders, who urged key government functionaries to be honest in resolving the crises in the area, also admonished them not take sides along tribal or sectional lines.
The Punch