President Bola Tinubu has promised that the gunmen who killed many people in communities in Plateau State will be apprehended and face severe punishment under the law.
Tinubu condoled with the families of the victims in Ruwi, Hurti, and Tadai communities in Bokkos Local Government and those from Manguna and Dafo villages, where the gunmen launched brutal attacks, killing many locals and destroying property.
“I have directed security agencies to hunt down the attackers, and they will face severe punishment when apprehended,” Tinubu said in a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Saturday.
The statement is titled, ‘President Tinubu vows severe punishment for Plateau attackers, commiserates with families.’
Tinubu condoled with the government of Plateau State and Governor Caleb Mutfwang, urging the affected communities to cooperate with the authorities and security agencies by volunteering information to catch the perpetrators and secure their communities.
He assured Mutfwang of his support in ending this spate of wanton bloodletting on the Plateau.
“The report of another violent attack in communities in Plateau State by mindless gunmen saddens me.
“The latest attacks on defenceless citizens are unacceptable.
“These intermittent attacks should have no place in our country at a time when we are working so hard to restore peace and order in all parts of our country,” said the president.
Tinubu affirmed that the unfortunate incident will never dampen and slow his administration in its drive to protect every Nigerian citizen.
“Instead, we will work harder to exterminate forces of evil wherever they are lurking in our country,” he stated.
The President directed the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to work with state authorities to provide necessary support to the victims and bring immediate relief to the affected communities and those wounded during the attacks.
NEMA will work in conjunction with the state to ensure that affected communities rebuild and recover.
Tinubu called for unity at this time, urging the affected communities to resist the urge to retaliate.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
