FORMER Emir of Kano State Lamido Sanusi and Islamic Cleric Ahmad Gumi have condemned the killings of travellers in Plateau State on Saturday while calling for members of the public to remain calm.
In separate videos, Sanusi and Gumi expressed regret over the murder of the victims and urged concerned parties to be patient as the government and security agencies worked towards arresting the culprits.
“A story reached us that state and federal government have already commanded the investigation of this act in order find those behind it and to take the necessary action.
“We are calling on all our colleagues to be patient and allow security officers to do their jobs, don’t retaliate or take laws in our hands and let continue praying for our country and our leaders to have the opportunity to bring security, peace and healthy way of living to us,” Sanusi said.
While commiserating with the entire Muslim Assembly, Gumi expressed hope that the murder of the victims would serve as reparation for their sins.
“We wish that this will be an expiation for them. We also appeal to the general public in the name of Allah to remain corporative and peaceful, our lives belong to our holy God, and if our times come, we must go back to him. To Allah belongs that which He has taken away and His is whatever He has given,” said Gumi.
The ICIR had reported the killing of 22 travellers who had died in an attack, which left 14 others injured.
Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Plateau State Police Command Ubah Ogaba said that the killings were carried out by a group of attackers suspected to be Irigwe youths and their sympathisers along Rukuba Road in Jos North Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
The victims were Muslim faithful returning to Ondo State from the annual Islamic New Year prayers held in Bauchi State.
Many other individuals and organisations have also condemned the killings, including the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Sultan of Sokoto, Mohammed Sa’ad Abubakar.
The state government declared a dusk-to- dawn curfew in three LGAs following the incident, and the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, ordered the deployment of security operatives to protect the affected communities in the state on Sunday.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.