Plateau killings: Ex-Gov Dariye seeks help from international community

Former Plateau State Governor, Sen. Joshua Dariye has pleaded with the international community to help tackle the persistent violence, killings and insecurity in the state.

Dariye, who made the appeal in a statement he shared on social media platforms on Wednesday, said the lingering attacks across different communities in the state had gone beyond what local security operatives could handle and, as such, the international community should intervene.

Dariye noted that if Nigeria’s current security architecture continued to fail while communities were repeatedly attacked, there should be no shame in seeking international support because protecting human lives should be the government’s foremost priority, and the government should seek any help it could get.

He said his position had always been that governments should remain open to every legitimate option capable of strengthening security, improving intelligence gathering and protecting vulnerable communities.

“If the security architecture is clearly failing and communities are being attacked repeatedly, there should be no shame in asking for international help. Sovereignty should not become an excuse for allowing citizens to remain vulnerable,” the former governor said.

Continuing, he wrote: “Nigeria can invite countries with stronger intelligence, surveillance, counter-terrorism and military capabilities to assist, while Nigerian authorities retain command and responsibility.

“The priority should be saving lives, protecting communities and restoring normal life as quickly as possible.

“A government should be willing to say: ‘Our current approach is not working; we need additional help.’ That is not weakness; it can be responsible leadership.”