Senate seeks decisive actions against Benue killings

•Wants service chiefs to probe attacks on Benisheikh, Monguno military bases by insurgents

THE Senate, on Wednesday, called on the Federal Government to take decisive steps in ending the frequent killings in Benue State, blamed on herdsmen and bandits, particularly focusing on the latest attacks in Apa local government area.

In a resolution, the Senate asked for the deployment of additional security personnel in Apa and other affected parts of Benue for a coordinated operation to contain the killings.

The Senate, in the resolution, which followed a motion moved by the Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro, also called for the establishment of a military base and a police area command in Apa.

Moro warned that the killings and attacks, often leading to the displacement of communities, were taking a toll on the status of Benue as the “Food Basket of the Nation” because farmers could no longer access their farms for fear of insecurity.

For instance, he said on April 12, a night invasion of Edikwu Ankpali (in Edikwu Ward I of Apa) led to the death of at least nine villagers.

Villagers in Akpete community suffered the same fate last February, according to available statistics.

The Senate also urged the Governor of the state, Reverend Father Hyacinth Aliya, to live up to his responsibility of providing security in the state.

Findings, however, indicated that the governor, in a reaction to the latest attacks, directed security agencies to move against armed herders camping in Apa, Otukpo, Gwer-West and other local government areas.

The resolution came as the Senate directed Service Chiefs to investigate the recent attacks on military bases in Benisheikh and Monguno, Borno State.

They were asked to conduct a comprehensive operational and logistical audit and come up with a report on personnel and civilian deaths amid the claim of equipment shortage and other logistics during the attacks, carried out by insurgents.

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The Whip of the Senate, Senator Tahir Monguno (Borno-North), had moved a motion on the urgent need to curb attacks on military formations by Boko Haram insurgents.

Leading the motion, Monguno expressed deep concern that several personnel, including Brigadier General Oseni Braimoh, Colonel Mohammed Isya, Captain A.M. Esmat, Lieutenant Kelvin Festus and 13 other soldiers, lost their lives during the attacks.

The whip said the repeated attacks on Monguno, a strategic garrison town, and Benisheikh, a key location along the Damaturu-Maiduguri highway, indicated a deliberate effort by Boko Haram to weaken military operations and disrupt vital humanitarian and commercial routes in the axis.