The Chairman of the Plateau State Fact-Finding Committee on Incessant Attacks and Killings, Major General Nicholas Rogers (rtd), has dismissed media reports suggesting that the panel indicted the Fulani community as being solely responsible for the decades-long violence in the state.
Speaking at a press briefing in Jos on Tuesday, General Rogers clarified that the crisis on the Plateau involves multiple groups and could not be attributed to any single ethnic community.
“The crisis in Plateau State is not domiciled in any ethnic group. All the ethnic groups are involved. It is wrong to pinpoint any particular tribe and say it is responsible. We have all made mistakes in one way or the other, and it is those mistakes that led to this issue of crisis,” he said.
He stressed that reprisal attacks remain a major driver of the recurring bloodshed, and cautioned elites and community leaders to guide their youth against taking the law into their own hands. “We advise the elite to always instruct their youth to report cases to the relevant authorities and allow investigations to be conducted properly. We urge people to lay down their arms,” he added.
The retired general also explained that the committee’s recommendations are not yet public, as they were submitted only to Governor Caleb Mutfwang. “It is wrong to insinuate that only Fulani are responsible. We have submitted our report to the governor, and it is only the governor who has access to the recommendations. The paper is not in the public domain. So where will anyone see the recommendations claiming one particular tribe was indicted?” he queried.
The 10-member committee, inaugurated in May 2025, was tasked with probing the root causes of the killings which have claimed over 11,000 lives and destroyed at least 420 communities across 13 local government areas since 2001.
General Rogers appealed to the Plateau State government to demonstrate strong political will in implementing the panel’s recommendations in order to bring an end to the cycle of violence and restore lasting peace to the state.
The governorship candidate of the Zenith Labour Party, ZLP, in Osun State, Olufemi Adesuyi, has called on security agencies to intensify efforts aimed at preventing further political violence ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
Adesuyi made the appeal in a statement issued in Osogbo on Wednesday, where he expressed concern over the recent increase in violent incidents across the state and urged law enforcement authorities to act decisively against perpetrators.
He urged the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies operating in Osun to be proactive in maintaining law and order during the election period.
According to him, “those involved in violent acts should be arrested and prosecuted regardless of their political affiliations.”
The ZLP candidate said the growing trend of killings and politically linked violence posed a threat to public safety and democratic governance in the state.
He warned that allowing such incidents to continue unchecked could affect the credibility of the forthcoming governorship poll.
Adesuyi stated, “The trend of these killings, if left unchecked, will threaten the peace and democratic values in this state. That will definitely affect the credibility of the forthcoming August 15 gubernatorial election.”
He added that politics should remain a contest of ideas and service rather than a struggle that endangers lives.
“We must not allow desperation to turn our democracy into a bloodbath. The rate at which political violence is spreading in Osun is worrisome. No position, no matter how highly placed, is worth wasting human blood for,” he said.
The governorship hopeful also appealed to politicians across party lines to conduct their campaigns peacefully and place the interest of Osun State above partisan considerations.
He said, “politicians must understand that power is transient. You cannot achieve your ambition by shedding the blood of innocent people.
“Let us campaign with decorum, respect our opponents, and allow the people to decide freely.”
Calling for restraint before, during and after the election, Adesuyi stressed that political differences should not lead to hostility among residents.
“Election is not war. Let us conduct ourselves peacefully, responsibly, and with respect for one another before, during, and after the election. Political differences should never make us enemies,” he said.
He encouraged eligible voters not to be discouraged by security concerns but to participate actively in the electoral process, while also seeking support for his governorship ambition.
The appeal comes amid heightened concern over violent crimes in Osun State, which recently prompted a visit by the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday f2026 arraigned Mr. Ahmed Adamu Dikko, former Managing Director of Port Harcourt Refining Company Ltd (PHRC), before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on a 12-count charge bordering on money laundering.
The charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/360/2026 and dated and filed on June 22 by the Commission’s counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, listed Dikko and Masterpiece Projects & Investment Limited as first and second defendants respectively.
Dikko, who led the Port Harcourt Refining Company for about four years, pleaded not guilty to a 12-count charge filed against him by the Commission on Wednesday, July 8, 2026.
The EFCC accused Dikko of laundering N1,322,839,112.7 (One Billion, Three Hundred and Twenty-Two Million, Eight Hundred and Thirty-nine Thousand, One Hundred and Twelve Naira, Seven Kobo) in proceeds allegedly linked to contractors engaged by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery, through cash property purchases, undisclosed bank retentions, third-party fund concealment and unauthorised currency conversion, in violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Count one reads in part: “That you AHMED ADAMU DIKKO… did directly make cash payment of the dollar equivalent of the sum of N218,375,000.00 to one Hadeija Bashir for the purchase of Plot 558, Abubakar Umar Street, Katampe Extension, Abuja without passing through a financial Institution and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Sections 2(1)(a), 19(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and punishable under Section 19(2)(b) of the same Act.”
Count eight reads: “That you AHMED ADAMU DIKKO, former Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refining Company Ltd (PHRC) on or about the 26th of June, 2023 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court disguised the origin of the sum of N328,710,337.50 (Three Hundred and Twenty Eight Million, Seven Hundred and Ten Thousand, Three Hundred and Thirty Seven Naira, Fifty Kobo) paid into the GTBank Account Plc No. 0123201507 operated by Masterpiece Projects & Investment Limited by OMSA Integrated Services Limited from the transactions involving NNPC Limited allocation of Vacuum Gas Oil for export when you knew that the said sum of N328,710,337.50 constituted proceeds of unlawful activity and you thereby committed an offence contrary Section 18(2) (a) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
Count eleven reads: “That you AHMED ADAMU DIKKO between October, 2022 and May, 2025 did convert the aggregate sum of $77,080 through Ibrahim Isa Yaro which amount did not form part of your known lawful earnings as a former public officer with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and punishable under Section 18(3) of the same Act.”
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to him.
Thereafter, counsel to the defendant, Okechukwu Ajunwa, SAN urged the court to grant the defendant bail pending the determination of the suit. Iheanacho, however, opposed the bail application.
In his ruling on the bail application, Justice Ekwo granted the defendant bail in the sum of N150,000,000 (One Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) with a surety who must be resident within the jurisdiction of the court and with a landed property valued at not less than the bail sum. He ordered that the defendant be remanded in the custody of the EFCC pending when he’s able to meet the bail conditions.
The matter was therefore adjourned to October 12, 13 and 14, 2026 for trial.