Plateau attacks: Group seeks revival of 'Operation Rainbow'

Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong

Adebayo Opeyemi, Lagos
Following recent attacks by gunmen in Plateau State, the Plateau Heritage Movement has called on the state government to consider reviving Operation Rainbow to address insecurity in the state.
Operation Rainbow, a homegrown security outfit, was established in the state in 2010 by former Governor Jonah  Jang after approval by former President Goodluck Jonathan following complaints by citizens that they were not secured in the hands of the conventional security operatives, who they accused of failing to protect them from gunmen attacks.
Convener of Plateau Heritage Movement, Mr Mangna Wamyil in a statement in Jos on Tuesday lamented that since the current APC administration came on board in 2015, the security outfit has been relegated to the background.

Mangna, who expressed regrets at the recent killing of twelve natives by gunmen in Mangu communities, said that the victims would have been alive if the Operation Rainbow was active.
He, therefore, called on Governor Simon Lalong to revive the outfit to forestall further loss of lives and properties.
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Mangna said "As citizens and indigenous people of Plateau State, we feel the pain and suffering of our people caused by the mindless killings we are compelled to witness. The most recent slaughter of innocents in Kulben is an indicator of the reality that the possibility of peace and security in our State is indeed an illusion far removed from human contemplation.
"At a time people across the country are fashioning ways and methods to guarantee their own safety and security years after we had ''Operation Rainbow'' for the same reason, we seem to have lost focus in this regard under the present administration.

"The fate of Operation Rainbow and its rendering to one of government's abandoned projects is a moral burden Governor Simon Bako Lalong must bear if the situation is allowed to continue.
"With Operation Rainbow, we may have been able to learn how to protect ourselves better, and with that knowledge avert some of these killings, or at least, make sound decisions during neighborhood watches that would not expose our communities to danger.
"As a movement committed to the projection and protection of the heritage of our people, we commend the government of Plateau State and applaud Governor Simon Bako Lalong for the urgency in his response to the condition of our people in Kulben. At the same time, we urge him to do more in being genuinely concerned for the pain, suffering, security, and wellbeing of our people.
"As we look to the future with hope, we will continue to pray ceaselessly for a day to come very soon, when Operation Rainbow will regain full operational status under the Lalong governorship, and after that, add to the commendable work of Vigilante Group of Nigeria, VGN, and law enforcement agencies of government."