Following killing of more than 86 people in Plateau State, there were indications that the Nigeria Police Force and security agencies were suspecting alleged sabotage by some disgruntled elements.
Some clues were also said to have pointed to subterranean motives, including likely political tone, beyond the herdsmen factor.
It was also learnt that the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has asked his deputy, DIG Joshack Habilla, to stay put in the state to get to the root of the killings.
According to a top security source, who spoke in confidence, President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered a “comprehensive probe of the killings” to avert a reoccurrence in any part of the country.
The source, who spoke in confidence, said: “Some of the clues obtained by the Police and security agencies have traces of suspected sabotage by some elements. We have a mandate from the President to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the killings.
“So far, apart from the killings in some of the affected villages, some victims included travellers and innocent ones who were caught in the crossfire.
“We are not only looking at the alleged invasion of the villages by herdsmen, we want to probe other factors which may cover likely political and religious angles.
“The security profile of Plateau State in the last three years did not give hints of likely breaches, a development which has fuelled suspicion of sabotage. There had been relative peace in the state.
“We will do our best to unmask the perpetrators of the dastardly killings.”
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called for thorough investigations and fair trial of those responsible for the violence.
A statement by Africa Director of HRW, Mausi Segun, said: “The carnage in Plateau State is a clear indication that the decades-long conflict has reached new levels of brutality. The frequency of these deadly attacks demonstrates the government’s failure to ensure safety and security in the region.
“Nigerian authorities need to do more than debunk self-help calls if they want people to trust and cooperate with them.
“Even-handed, prompt, and thorough investigations, followed by fair trials of those responsible for the violence, are effective ways to unequivocally send this message.”
“Plateau is one of the states in Nigeria’s North Central region worst hit by decades of communal conflict between predominantly Christian farming communities and mostly Muslim cattle herdsmen.
“Local groups report that between January and March 2018, 1,078 people died in the violence in Plateau, Benue, Kaduna, Taraba, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Kwara, and Kogi states.
“In Benue State alone, 102,000 children, 60 per cent of the 169, 922 people displaced by the conflict, have been forced out of school. Although the conflict is increasingly described in religious terms, competing claims to land and other resources are at its core.
“In a 2013 report, Human Rights Watch found that the failure of authorities to bring those responsible to justice is one of the major drivers of the cycles of communal violence in Kaduna and Plateau states.
“ In recent months, there have been no public reports on investigation by the police into the violence in the Middle Belt. Just five people in Adamawa State have been tried and sentenced for killings in the region since 2017.
“Community leaders say that the inadequate deployment of security forces to protect lives and property has led them to advocate self-help defensive efforts, as well as retaliatory attacks against those responsible for, or perceived as being responsible for, previous attacks.
“ In May, a former Defence Minister, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, called on people in his home state of Taraba to stop depending on government security forces which he said were not neutral, for protection, and instead to defend themselves against attackers.”
