The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa; Benue State Governor, on Monday, Hyacinth Alia, and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun have vowed to end the killings in the state.
They stated this when they visited the Yelwata community, in the Guma Local Government Area of the state.
Bandits, suspected to be armed herders, last Friday attacked the community, leading to the death of at least 59 residents and the displacement of over 3,000 others.
Speaking during the visit, Musa ordered field commanders from Benue and Nasarawa states to review their operational strategies and deal decisively with any act of terrorism in Benue.
The CDS, who toured the scenes of the attack in Yelewata, in the Guma Local Government Area of the state, said the persistent attacks were one too many that must be nipped in the bud to restore peace.
He urged the communities to engage troops with mutual trust going forward to deal decisively with criminals.
“We are tired of innocent souls being killed, and we’re here to ensure that we address such. I’ll be going to see my commanders and we have to change our strategy. We’re going to look inward and see how we can address it, but as we mentioned, we cannot do it alone without the community, without the state.
“We need everybody to be part of it. We understand that even before now we used to have even within us people that compromise and give information because going around, you see the way some of the burnings were made, were targeted and which means they were insiders and so, I’ve discussed with the communities, the traditional rulers, with the clergy for us to work united,” he said.
Advertisement
“There have been some issues on trust and that, we’re going to address for us, like I said, we want this to be the last one that will happen. We’re going to go all out to ensure that we address. We have put in measures in other places and it has worked; here is not going to be different.
“I want to assure Nigerians that not only Benue State, all over the country, we are determined, based on the mandate of Mr. President, to ensure that we restore peace and tranquility within our country, but we need Nigerians to support us.
“We must work together as a team. We also have the information that sometimes some of these people come across borders wherever it is they’re coming from, we’re going to go after them and take them. We can never ever give our country up for anything, and this madness must stop and it will end,” the CDS added.
Governor Hyacinth Alia, while briefing the CDS and the IGP on the attacks, lamented the extent of the carnage.
Alia, however, expressed confidence that the visit would bring relief to the troubled areas and restore peace.
“I quite unfortunate. That this kind of carnage, this kind of killings, you know, persists. The presence of the Chief of Defence staff and the IGP means quite much to me, and definitely the people as well.
“The President himself is quite touched. I know we remain very hopeful that this kind of devastating occurrence will not happen, not only within the local government but around the state.
“Already, we now have an increased presence of different teams and squads, and that is going to create a huge difference,” he added.
On his part, the IGP commiserated with the members of the community and reassured them of the NPF’s commitment to further augmenting the available security emplacement in the state.
He directed the immediate deployment of additional tactical teams and assets, and assigned the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Department of Operations, to take charge and oversee the operations aimed at restoring peace to Benue.
He said, “The people of this community are not alone. We are with them. The entire Nigerian communities are with them. A day will come when these bandits will come to operate as they used to, and they will never return.
“That day is drawing nearer. I can assure you that we are committed to fighting this battle and winning this war. My appeal to the community is to cooperate with us. They know the environment more than anyone else. They should give us information. They know the strangers. They can recognise strange movements. They can see the signs. They should please give information to us.”
The IGP was accompanied by senior officers, including the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Department of Operations, DIG Yakubu Kwazhi; the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Department of Logistics and Supply, DIG Adebola Ayinde Hamzat; the AIG Zone 4, AIG Zachariah Fera; and the CP SIS, CP Abayomi Shogunle.
Channels TV
