‘I Thought We Had Gone Past Dark Era’ – Dalung Laments Fresh Plateau Killings

A former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, has condemned the recent killings in Plateau State, lamenting what he described as a return to a “dark era” of profiling and murdering innocent travellers on highways.

Naija News reports that Dalung, in a statement issued on Tuesday, described as barbaric and unacceptable the killing of four young traders at Dorowa Babuje in Barakin Ladi Local Government Area on February 23.

The former minister said he believed the country had moved beyond what he called the “dark era of profiling citizens on highways and slaughtering innocent travellers simply because they share an ethnic or religious identity.”

“I thought we had gone past the dark era of profiling citizens on highways and slaughtering innocent travellers simply because they share an ethnic or religious identity,” Dalung said.

The victims were reportedly on their way to Pankshin Monday Market when they were singled out and killed.

Dalung noted that the incident followed an earlier attack on a hotel in the same community, where nine persons were said to have lost their lives.

He also referenced reports of three young Fulani herdsmen who allegedly went missing and were later found dead, warning that such incidents were fueling a dangerous cycle of reprisals across the state.

“It is barbaric, criminal and utterly unacceptable to block highways and murder innocent citizens who know nothing about the conflicts fueling these attacks,” he stated.

“Collective punishment is not justice; it is savagery. Two wrongs can never make a right.”

Dalung acknowledged that communities have the right to defend themselves when attacked but stressed that vengeance against harmless travellers would only deepen divisions and multiply grief.

The former minister urged security agencies to rise to their constitutional responsibility of protecting lives and property, insisting that perpetrators of the killings must be identified and prosecuted.

He extended his condolences to the bereaved families and called on residents of Plateau State to break the cycle of retaliation.

“Plateau has suffered enough. It is time to give peace a genuine chance,” he said.