Benue killings: Uba reiterates need for state police

Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for Benue State and Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Titus Uba has reiterated the need for the creation of State police in Nigeria to enable States to effectively tackle their security challenges.

Uba made the call on Thursday in Gbeji, Ukum local government when he accompanied the Senator representing Benue North East, Dr Gabriel Suswam and the representative of the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom to Visit the community.

He said creation of State police in Nigeria would help the governors protect the life and property of their people hence the Federal government has failed to adequately tackle the prevailing insecurity in the States of the Federation.

He informed the people that the State Assembly in its emergency sitting decried the spate of incessant attacks on Benue communities by armed herders and requested the State government to liaise with relevant authorities to provide relief materials for victims of the heinous attack and also called on the Federal government to grant Governor Ortom’s request to acquire firearms for the Community Volunteer Guards to complement the efforts of the conventional security.

In their separate remarks, Governor Samuel Ortom represented by the Secretary to the State Government, prof. Tony Ijohor, Senator representing Benue North East, Dr Gabriel Suswam, Dr. Richard Gbande, Hon. Thomas Mlanga and the Ukum Council Boss, Hon. Kartyo Tyoumbur all condemned the unprovoked attacks on Gbeji and other communities in the State by armed herders and equally condoled with the families of those killed in the attacks.

The PDP guber candidate also accompanied the governor’s representative, Prof. Tony Ijohor, the Senator representing Benue North East, Dr Gabriel Suswam and many others to the hospital where victims of the attacks where receiving treatment and the morgue where corpses of those killed were deposited.

By Wuese Orshi