The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Buhari Media Organisation (BMO), Saturday, traded blames over the recent killings in Plateau State.
Between June 23 and 24, this year, more than 200 persons were killed in 11 communities of the state by suspected herdsmen.
BMO had blamed the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for instigating the “harvest of death in order to truncate the achievement of the APC and cast dark imagery on the season of goodwill of President Buhari’s political party.”
Butt, the PDP described Buhari Media Organisation (BMO)’s allegations that it sponsored the killings in Plateau State as diversionary, callous, wicked and obtrusive.
Recall that BMO attributed the attack of 11 villages in Plateau State and the death of dozens of people as the handiwork of heartless and desperate politicians who are opposed to the government of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In their statement signed by Mr Austin Braimo, its chairman and Mr. Cassidy Madueke, secretary, the organisation is of the view that the opposition party wanted to overshadow the success recently recorded during the last National Conference of the party.
The statement said carnage and brigandage was timed to meet the period that APC Delegates were returning home in Northern Nigeria through Plateau State; where they were waylaid and murdered in cold blood.
“This was done to tarnish the reputation of the President and cast the image of APC in bad light, just for the desperate opposition to gain some political advantage.
“It was also gathered that illegal road blocks were set up by the hired assassins to carry out their nefarious and dastardly hatchet act of man’s inhumanity to man.
“Almost 90 people were cut down in their prime near Jos, Plateau Capital,” it said.
“The APC today is laden with heavy hearts by the mass killing of innocent breadwinners, women and children, under the guise of herdsmen versus farmers’ unrest.
“BMO is appealing to Nigerians to show love to Mr. President and show avowed resistance to the unpatriotic people who are working hard to pull the President and his party down.
“The opposition PDP might have achieved its sadistic media objectives of casting pall on the APC and Federal Government, but doing that on a field soaked with human blood is regrettable and unpardonable.
“No amount of calculated distractions or ill-will would prevent President Buhari from fulfilling his electoral promises of security, unity, equity and development to Nigerians,’’ it said.
While commiserating with the families of the departed, the statement revealed that the organisation prayed for the repose of the souls of these martyrs, and quick recovery to the maimed and injured.
However, PDP in a statement advised the BMO to stop its hallucinations and tell its principal, President Muhammadu Buhari, to live up to the responsibility of his office by stopping the bloodletting and callous murder of innocent citizens in various parts of our country.
In a statement signed by Kola Ologbondiyan, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, PDP described as unfortunate and highly condemnable that members of the BMO, if truly they are citizens of Nigeria, could seek to politicise the gruesome killings of compatriots in Plateau and other states, instead of confronting President Buhari and charging him to live up to his billing or assisting him in finding solution to the gruesome daily bloodlettings.
PDP noted “The BMO, out of frustration of its inability to further beguile Nigerians into believing that Buhari is our 21st Century Messiah, is resorting to baseless, lame and political accusations against the PDP.
“Thus, the BMO has further confirmed the fears of Nigerians that the Buhari administration is groping and has no concrete plans or strategy to apprehend the killers, safeguard the lives of our citizens and protect the territorial integrity of our dear nation.
“We, therefore, urge Nigerians to note the desperate, concerted and sustained moves by the Buhari Presidency, as well as, its chorus boys to politicize the killings and engage in utterances that tend to derail investigations, provide cover for culprits and scuttle efforts by security agencies to apprehend those behind the dastardly act.”
The party pointed out “Nigerians may recall that on June 25, 2018, immediately the news of the Plateau killing broke, the Presidency, before any security investigation, issued a release wherein it attempted to offer explanations on the killings and tried to blame some persons it referred to as ‘locals.’’
“On Thursday, June 28, 2018, while Nigerians were mourning and urging security agencies to track down the killers, the Presidency, without exhibiting any form of empathy to the bereaved, issued yet another statement, attempting to politicize the killings by making morbid comparisons of those killed under various administrations and stating that “wanton killings had been with us for a while,” a comment that tended to weaken the morale of the security officers.
“Nigerians may further recall that President Buhari had, in March this year, directed that anybody who attempted to play politics with the handling of security would be dealt with. We now wonder why his presidency and support group have resorted to attempts to politicise the Plateau killings, a development that has raised suspicions that they have something to hide.
“The PDP is compelled to urge security agencies to invite the members of the BMO to provide information as principal witnesses to the carnage that have taken place across our nation.
“On our part, the PDP will not deter on its stance to continue to speak out against the bloodletting and killings of innocent Nigerians and to, on behalf of the citizens, hold the Buhari administration accountable in the discharge of the duty vested on it to ensure security of lives and property of our citizenry,” the party added.
