VP Shettima visits attacked Plateau communities, apologises to victims

Vice President Kashim Shettima on Wednesday visited communities in Plateau State where over 100 people including children and women were gruesomely murdered on Christmas Eve.

He condoled with the people and state government over the killings in Barkin Ladi and Bokkos local government areas of the state.

Shettima apologised to the victims of the attacks and promised that the President Bola Tinubu administration would not rest until the attackers were apprehended and made to face justice as well as ensure the safety of residents.

He said the Killings on the Plateau and other parts of the country must stop forthwith.

The Vice President said, “Please accept our heartfelt condolences. Please accept our deepest apologies. Because we won’t rest until you access justice and until you are safe.”

Shettima informed the people about how heart-broken President Tinubu had been since he received news of the gory incident.

He said the President “is deeply shaken by this tragedy and shares in this unspeakable sorrow that has shattered the joy of Christmas across the country.”

A statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, quoted Shettima as saying, “When one community bleeds, the entire nation feels the pain. The pain we feel now transcends ethnicity or religion, geography or politics. The grief that binds us is a testament to our shared humanity, not differences.”

Identifying with the grieving families who lost loved ones in the attack, the Vice President acknowledged the fact that it is an indescribable nightmare to bury families, describing it as a rare experience that is much more unbearable than the pain of losing one or two loved ones.

“We cannot fathom the depth of this grief beyond the experience of the bereaved. We can only offer to assuage your pain. What has happened to you is a funeral for the entire nation. Our hearts bleed alongside yours, our dear brothers and sisters in Bokkos, Barkin-Ladi, and all over Plateau State,” he stated.

He assured the people that the Tinubu administration is out to protect them and ensure justice, even though it may appear as if the government has failed them in their time of serious need.

According to him, justice is the path to collective safety, unity, and healing of the nation.

He said, “We came to power promising to uphold the sanctity of every citizen’s life, and now is the time to reassure you that this inter-community violence, which has hijacked the humanity and serenity of this beautiful State over the past decades, will never persist under our watch.

“We will harness all our resources to bring those responsible to justice; we will not rest until we are able to prevent the recurrence of these heinous acts.

“Your blood, your tears, and your cries stain our collective conscience. We are here for you; we are here, resolute in our commitment to ensuring that the perpetrators of these mindless killings face the full force of the law.”

He, however, appealed to the people of Plateau State to resist “the temptation to succumb to sectional divisions or the poisonous rhetoric of hatred towards” fellow citizens.

“This violence persists due to this dangerous practice of treating criminals as ambassadors of their group, where the law is taken into our hands, and where protection fails. But this is not the case now. This is a promise,” Shettima said.