Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State has declared a 24-hour curfew in Mangu Local Government Area following a resurgence of crisis in the area.
Daily Sun had reported that no fewer than 200 people were killed, thousands displaced, and property worth of millions of Naira destroyed in what has now become Christmas Eve massacre in three local government areas, Barkin Ladi, Bokkos and Mangu.
Since then, there have been pockets of skirmishes between the Fulani herders and local farmers.
A statement by the Director of Press and Public Affairs to the Governor, Gyang Bere, said the new directive followed the deteriorating security situation in the area.
He said Mutfwang took the decision after consultations with the relevant security agencies and directed that only persons on essential duties would be allowed to move within the local government area until further notice.
He urged all citizens, especially residents of Mangu Local Government Area, to comply with the directive and assist the security personnel by providing reliable information to restore peace and order in the area.
He lamented that some people were still determined to create an atmosphere of insecurity in the state, despite the government’s efforts to end the activities of terrorist elements.
He expressed his sympathy to the victims’ families and the injured and assured them that the government would not relent in ensuring lasting peace in the state. He promised that the curfew would be reviewed as soon as the security situation improves.
It is not known whether the situation is related to the political crisis that ensued following the Supreme Court judgment, which overturned the verdict of the Court of Appeal that sacked Mutfwang as governor of the state.
Daily Sun had reported that the 16 members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), sacked by the Appeal Court, had said that by the judgment of the apex court, which chastised the lower court for doing a shoddy job on the suit filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Yilwatda Goshwe, challenging the declaration of Mutfwang by the election petitions tribunal as the duly elected governor, they still remained the duly elected lawmakers in the House of Assembly.