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Group urges FG to commence disarmament, arrest armed herdsmen

By Joseph Wantu, Makurdi
11 February 2018   |   3:33 am
A civil society organisation, Benue Arise Network, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to commence the disarmament and arrest of armed Fulani herdsmen to erase the impression the federal government is complicit.

Herdsmen

A civil society organisation, Benue Arise Network, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to commence the disarmament and arrest of armed Fulani herdsmen to erase the impression the federal government is complicit.

The group’s director of media and publicity, Terfa Youghyough, said yesterday, in Makurdi: “The lackadaisical manner with which the federal government handled Fulani herdsmen killings in the state and country has left the people with good reason to suspect every move it makes, until proven otherwise.

“We have faith in the military and the 44-day military exercise to commence in Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba and three other states from February 15, known as  ‘Operation Ayem Akpatema.’ But the federal government must prove its sincerity.

“While we welcome the exercise, it should be used to arrest the armed invading herdsmen, and not to falsely indict the governor or other citizens in the state. “Any move by Mr. President not to go after the invaders, but turn against the innocent people of the state, who are the victims, will not be acceptable to us, the state, and Nigerians. This will cause the people to lose faith in the military, like they have lost faith in the police.”

The group stated its loss of confidence in the leadership of the police to tackle the ongoing killings in the state. It said: “The bias and unprofessional conduct of police officers like the Inspector General of Police and the Police Public Relations officer is largely responsible for the recent ranking of the Nigerian Police Force by the World Internal Security and Police Index (WISPI) as the worst globally.”

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