Nasarawa Mayhem: Governor denies considering Amnesty for Ombatse Militia
Nasarawa State Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura yesterday in Abuja denied considering any plan to grant amnesty to members of the Ombatse militia, who killed over 70 security agents assigned to quell complaints on the group earlier this year.
The governor said this while addressing newsmen and top government officials that media reports quoting him as considering amnesty for the militia are false.
“The administration is not considering amnesty to the outlawed Ombatse militia of the Eggon ethnic group widely accused of killing and perpetrating other heinous crimes in some parts of the state. A story of such magnitude was published without recourse to what I said while delivering a lecture on the topic: ‘Contemporary Security Challenges in Nasarawa State’ at the Institute for Security Studies in Bwari, Abuja, on October 29, 2013.
“It will amount to pre-empting the work of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up to ascertain the immediate and remote causes of the killings of security personnel at Alakyo who were on their routine duty and to also unmask their sponsors.
“This story as published by a section of the media is a figment of the imagination of the writers. The report is a misrepresentation of what I said during a question and answer session after delivering the lecture. I only implored security agents to intensify efforts at recovering arms that are illegally in possession of the militia and other unauthorised persons.”
He said he was concerned about the inconveniences the report may have caused the public, especially the victims of the attacks and the Judicial Commission of Enquiry currently investigating the killings.
The Governor also made assurances that his administration would continue to maintain peaceful co-existence among the diverse ethnic groups in the state, and that no stone would be left unturned to bring the perpetrators and their sponsors to book.
Earlier, the state Commissioner for Information, Hamza Elayo, said in Lafia that the state government would reward members of the group who surrender their weapons, denying any amnesty.
“There is no amnesty, we have a judicial commission of inquiry still sitting on fact finding, their recommendation is what we will implement”, he said
