Suspected Fulani herdsmen have
killed more than 1, 500 farmers including policemen and soldiers in
Benue State communities in 47 different attacks in the last three years,
says the state government.
This is as the government has indicted
the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, over his alleged
complicity in the murderous attacks and killings of its innocent
citizens of the state by the armed Fulani herdsmen and called on the
federal government to immediately relieve him from his position.
The government cited failure of the
police chief to apprehend the killer herdsmen to beat the two weeks
ultimatum given him by the federal government on deployment to the
state, but resort to blame game rather that confronting the problem
without fear or favour as reasons for its position.
Commissioner for Information and
Orientation, Mr. Lawrence Onoja (Jnr) who disclosed this at a news
briefing in Makurdi said, the victims were killed within four years
particularly between 2013 and 2017 in Agatu, Guma, Kwande, Katsina-Ala,
Logo, Ogbadibo, Gwer West, Makurdi, Buruku, Gwer East and Ohimini local
government areas of the state.
He said convoys of former governor of
the state, Dr. Gabriel Suswam and immediate past Senate President,
Senator David Mark were also attacked by the herdsmen at Umenger and
Agatu respectively during their separate visits to the crisis prone
areas for an on-the-spot assessment of the killings and damages done to
local inhabitants with property worth over N100 billion lost to the
attacks.
Mr. Onoja expressed government’s
dissatisfaction with the role played security agencies deployed to flash
points to help maintain peace and pointedly accused the Inspector
General of Police for taking sides with the Fulani herdsmen while the
killings continue unabated.
While describing comments credited to
the police helmsman who had linked the killings in the state to the
promulgation of the anti-open grazing law as well as a communal clash as
unfortunate, Mr. Onoja said the state government is not ready to repeal
or suspend the law for any reason and sought the support of the police
and other security agencies to the sustainability of the law which he
said has taken off successfully.
“Such statements
coming from some of the nation’s top security chiefs may have confirmed
the fears expressed by many people that the herdsmen unleashing
murderous attacks on Benue may have backing of some highly placed
individuals within the security apparatus of state”.
“When those who are entrusted with the
sensitive task of protecting lives and property of innocent Nigerians
resort to placing unjustified blames on the good intentions of the Benue
state government to promote peace and security, then such people have
unknowingly or knowingly become part of the problem we have in our hands
today in the country”.
“We call on the federal government to
immediately relieve Ibrahim Idris from his position as the IGP as he has
failed woefully in his duties especially as the two weeks ultimatum
given him by the Senate to apprehend the killer herdsmen has elapsed
without any meaningful arrests of the culprits but has resorted to
unprofessional trading blames rather than confronting the problem
without fear or favour”.
He said the police boss was ordered by
the President to relocate to Benue in the wake of the New Year
killings, the police chief was sighted just a day in the state and has
preferred to stay in Nasarawa State.
The Commissioner who flayed the IG’s
comments that the state governor was arming militia, said his most
brazen part of the conspiracy against Benue people was the “lopsided
arrests” carried out, insisting that the arrest of the Miyetti Allah
Kuatal Hore leadership was the only solution to the intractable crisis.
NewTelegraph
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