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Governor Alia Accuses Abuja Politicians of Fueling Benue Banditry

Last Updated on 29 July 2024 by Naijadazz

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The Governor said this while speaking after the thanksgiving service at Chapel of Grace in Government House, Makurdi; he was deeply saddened and frustrated by the latest attacks in the Sankera area of the state. According to reports, six persons lost their lives in Ukum LGA and 18 in Katsina-Ala LGA during attacks by local bandits who turned on their own people. A viral video of the bandits threatening further violence has increased the sense of urgency to act to stem the bloodshed.

He described the security situation in Sankera as being an octopus, a monster with several arms, a metaphor to describe the various and overwhelming forms of threats heaped on the region. He, therefore, said that when instability is not instigated by external invaders, but by homebred militants, the situation, uniquely, is tragic and complex.

Early in the election campaigns, he had called on those destabilizing the state to lay down their arms, promising that the new government would help them integrate into society. There were promises for support in education or vocational training to give better opportunities and turn them away from violence. What has worsened the situation is political interference, complicating efforts aimed at restoring peace.

He commiserated with the fact that the local bandits are killing their families and denying them an opportunity to lead a normal life, unlike most parts of the world where insecurity is normally triggered by external aggressors. What is very sad, he said, was the fact that the violent actors are part of the community, not outsiders.

While many olive branches have been extended to such militants to give up their violent ways, struggles for power and political sponsorship have heightened the problem. He said the governor was frustrated by the fact that Abuja politicians were sponsoring these boys to continue perpetrating such acts of violence, thereby making this quest for sustainable peace more tiring.

He set up a Judicial Panel of Inquiry to investigate the cause and course of the violent protests at Ukum. He assured members of the public that security apparatus has been beefed up in the community to protect them during the period the panel would work out the facts. The Governor is rather resolved in his commitment to stabilizing the region and ending this vicious circle of violence.