Benue killings: Senate gives IGP 14-day ultimatum to arrest perpetrators

* Reps okays panel to interface with stakeholders

• CAN wants Buhari to tag Myetti Allah terrorist group

The tension in Benue State over the killing of 73 people in cold blood attracted the attention of the Senate on Tuesday as it directed Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, to arrest the perpetrators within 14 days.

It also directed the Attorney General of Benue State to prosecute those involved in the killings.

Senators however took time to lambast President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government on its slow response to the challenges thrown by the killings in Benue State and other parts of the country where clashes between farmers and herdsmen are being reported.

Debate on Benue killings on the floor of the Senate took the centre stage with an amendment of report of an Ad-hoc committee on the review of the current security infrastructure in Nigeria chaired by Senator Ahmad Lawan.

The report had indicated that the issue of killings in Benue State was more political, as the Committee attributed the development to the handiwork of those it described as faceless individuals who have allegedly been sponsoring and harbouring the trained foreign mercenaries, using them to unleash violence and criminality in Nigeria’s rural space.

It traced the roots of the crises in Benue and other states of the North where clashes between herdsmen and farmers have reached crises point to struggles for access to natural resources such as land, water and pasture by contending forces.

The report also stated expressly that the conflict over the means of production had aggravated and fuelled tension leading to proliferation of firearms in different communities.

The report blamed the escalation of crises in affected areas to sparse presence of security forces, most especially at the time conflict reached the head.

It noted that in few places where the security forces are deployed, they were usually undermanned and underequipped and easily overrun by what it described as better trained and equipped militia and foreign marauders.

Senator Shehu Sani (APC, Kaduna Central) while contribution to issues raised in the report blamed senators as part of the problem at hand, contending that Senators appear to be afraid to speak the truth to President Buhari because they want to come back in 2019.

Shehu Sani also blamed the President for the lapses on security challenges in Nigeria, stressing that his government has been working at slow speed on peculiar challenges and hence asked the president to wake up from slumber, more so as Nigerians, according to him, are being killed continually.

Sani said: “If you are faced with a crisis and you use ethnic or religious lenses to view at it, you will see a religious, ethnic or sectional image. This is not the time for diplomacy and courtesy. This is the time to provide leadership for a nation that is in national emergency and national distress.

“Let the president wake up and protect the country. We are living in a country where there is complicit reward for violence.

“Things are not going right in this country, we are failing, and people are dying in their thousands, kidnappings, violence.

“We cannot solve this problem if in every possible way, whatever happens, we assess, analyse it from our ethnic-religious background, there is must be a clear distinction between armed herdsmen who must be confronted frontally and Fulani cattle rearers.

“People have lost hope in the government, we are here trying to massage the ego, we don’t want to confront the presidency and the president because people want to come back to the 9th Senate, and they don’t want to lose the ticket.”

Also, former Senate President, Senator David Mark (PDP, Benue South) commended his successor, Dr. Bukola Saraki, on his timely directive to the Senate Ad hoc Committee on Security Infrastructure to cut short its recess and investigate the New Year killings in Benue State.

Mark also lauded the Senator Ahmad Lawan-led committee for its prompt response to the directive of the Senate President.

Mark urged security agencies to fish out the perpetrators of the heinous crimes and their sponsors as an immediate step towards addressing the clashes between the herdsmen and farmers in the state.

Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, stated that all Nigerians are worried about the killings across the nation.

“The Senate is not the only group or body concerned, Nigerians are also worried,” the Deputy Senate President said, adding that, “We are tired of always observing a minute silence, we must have peace and security before even thinking of infrastructure and development in the country.

“We should revisit the constitution review where we can, start State policing and community policing so as to curb these kind of internal mayhem,” said the Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio.

The Chief Whip, Senator Sola Adeyeye, stated that all Nigerians needed to rise above religion in putting an end to the killings.

“There is no reason why these things are happening, and we have an Attorney General of the Federation, yet no single prosecution,” said Senator Ibn Na’Allah, the Deputy Senate Leader.

Na’Allah commended the Senate President for setting up the committee to review Nigeria’s security infrastructure for better performance.

Senator Andy Uba, representing Anambra South, called for community police to curb future killings.

In his own contribution, Saraki noted that the Senate’s debate on the clashes between herdsmen and farmers in Benue and other states has shown that it is not religious-based, but a breakdown of law and order in that part of the country.

In a related development, the House of Representatives on Tuesday resolved to set up a high powered committee to interface with stakeholders on how to end the incessant killings and attacks by marauding herdsmen throughout the country.

The committee when constituted is expected to conduct a public hearing to unravel the remote causes of the conflict between herdsmen and host farming communities as well as proffer solutions to end the killings in various parts of the country by suspected herdsmen.

This resolution by the House follows the recent killings of 73 people by herdsmen in Logo and Guma Local Government areas of Benue State and other deadly attacks in parts of the country.

While condemning the killings in Benue State in all ramifications, the House further called on the President Buhari administration to find a lasting solution to the herdsmen/farmers crisis.

The resolutions followed the adoption of the motion moved by Hon Babatunde Kolawale (APC/Oyo) at the resumption of during plenary by the House from its annual Christmas recess.

Moving the motion, Kolawale said that the recent attacks on farmers and farming communities across the country and the Benue killings in particular, violates Section 33(1) of the 1999 Constitution which guarantees the right to life to every citizen.

He added that the incessant attacks on farmers and framing communities by herdsmen will ultimately result in food shortages, artificial food scarcity and ultimately, hamper the drive by the Federal Government to diversify the nation’s economy through agriculture.

Contributing debate on the motion, Hon Wale Raji stated that it was unfortunate that security agencies in the nation have failed to protect the lives of law-abiding Nigerians.

He said that “in other societies, the security officers concerned should not be occupying their positions as at now. There are evidence of ineptitude.

Another lawmaker, Hon Afe Olowokere in his contribution said that “the President has not helped matters. The president has not even uttered a word. We will be failing in our duty if nothing is done.

“We call on the Federal Government to put an end to this and identify the causes”, he said.

Similarly, Hon John Dyegh while condemning the atrocities committed by the herdsmen and their refusal to embrace ranching, said that “it is not right for herdsmen to enter our land, destroy our crops and we all are watching.

Also, Hon Hassan Sale said that “what we are seeing is a failure from the president down to even the National Assembly; we are expected to do more. Even the President needs to seat up.

But Hon Sadiq Ibrahim opposed the motion, saying that “the herdsmen needs our protection, their lives are completely attached to the animals they rear.”

Meanwhile, to restore permanent peace to all the trouble spots in the country, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has asked President Buhari to declare the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) as a terrorist group, overhaul the entire security apparatus in the country as well as replace the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Ibrahim Idris.

CAN said leaders of the Myetti Allah Breeders Association of Nigeria should be arrested and prosecuted for the genocide against the Christian minorities in the Middle Belt.

Rev. (Dr.). Musa Asake, National General Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), said this on Tuesday at the National Christian Centre, Abuja, while expressing the concern of the Christian body over the insecurity challenges that have continued to face the nation and Christians in particular.

CAN also called on President Buhari to overhaul the National Security Council with a view to sharing its membership equally between Christians and Muslims and possibly those who do not belong to either. It as well demanded an immediate redeployment of the Inspector General of Police and all the Commissioners of Police.

The body said that Nigeria’s security system has become dysfunctional due to the inability of the various security arms to wrestle to the ground those threatening the existence of Christians and other innocent citizens in Nigeria,

Asake also accused the police of insincerity in their fight to arrest insecurity in the country, saying that “Instead, the IG whenever there is ongoing killings, his men on ground in that particular area will be looking the other way and if asked, they will say they are waiting for order from above.”

The body accused President Buhari of not running Nigeria according to the dictates of the democratic values in the Constitution and has no respect for human rights, rule of law and democracy.

The Christian body also berated the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association for making very inciting statements before and after the Fulani herdsmen attack in Benue communities in which it stated it would not abide with the anti-open grazing law of Benue State government.

Meanwhile, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, has admonished Nigerians from different strata to “eschew all divisive tendencies and embrace the spirit of oneness so as to bequeath the Nigeria we used to know to our children and to the generations yet unborn”.

The SGF made this remarks in response to a friendly gesture at weekend “quiet evening” organised by committee of friends in his honour.

He however assured all that the Buhari-led government is doing everything possible to deliver a safer and saner Nigeria to its citizenry.

Commending the efforts of his friends, the SGF said he was thrilled for the gesture, looking at the friendship that lasted for over 50 years cutting across tribes and religions.

Earlier, the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Musa Bello, in their separate goodwill messages, commended President Buhari for his right choice of Boss Mustapha as the SGF.

In a related development, a high powered delegation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by its Deputy National Chairman, South, Yemi Akinwunmi, on Tuesday, paid a condolence visit to the government and people of Benue State over the death of its citizens from herdsmen attacks.

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The delegation was received by the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Michael Gusa, on behalf of the state Governor, Samuel Ortom, at the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Makurdi.

In his address, Akinwunmi said they were in the state on behalf of the party to commiserate and show love with the government and people of the state over the recent killings.

He said that the PDP had put up a powerful prayer group for God to intervene in the affairs of Nigeria so that such killings would stop in Benue, North East, and Nigeria.

He stressed the need for peace to be restore, “so that we can leave in peace and harmony.

Akinwunmi said that irrespective of political divide, Nigerians remain one big family.

He urged the state government to help in onward distribution of the relief materials to affected persons who were currently in two IDP camps within the state.

Some of the donated relief materials include 100 bags of local rice, 50 bags of beans, 30 bundles of mats and mattresses each; and 300 blankets and plastic buckets each.

While receiving the items, Gusa appreciated PDP leadership for the show of love.

He assured that the items would have been received by SEMA Executive Secretary, but he was engaged with the IDPs.

He said, “We assure you that this items would be judiciously utilised and be transmitted to the affected persons. We will communicate you to appreciate this show of love on behalf of the state government and the affected persons, especially at this critical time in Benue.”

He added that the government was doing all it can to bring permanent solution to the recurrent killings in the state.

On the delegation were the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan; National Youth Leader, Udo Okoye; and Deputy National Secretary, Dr. Emmanuel Agbo, among others.

The leader of the delegation also appreciated the PDP Benue State members who came out in large number to welcome the party delegation.

Akinwunmi said they were in the state to commiserate with them, urging them to get their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) ready for the next election.

The PDP Benue State Chairman, Sir John Ngbede, commended the party leadership for the visit, describing it as show of love and demonstration of what the party stood for.

Olufemi Samuel, Henry Omunu, Mathew Dadiya and Tunde Opalana, and Myke Uzendu, Abuja