BEVERLY HILLS, March 14, (THEWILL) – The House of Representatives has charged the Federal Government to immediately set up a presidential task force to disarm rampaging herdsmen in Buruku Federal Constituency, other parts of Benue State and throughout the country.
This call followed a motion jointly sponsored by the Benue State caucus in the lower legislative chamber on Tuesday.
The Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, Orker Jev, who spoke on behalf of the lawmakers, disclosed that communities in Buruku local government area of Benue State, particularly Binev Council ward, was invaded by “armed and strange herdsmen”.
He added that “the herdsmen destroyed farms, plundered yam barns and looted houses deserted by innocent and armless villagers.”
Orker said the marauding herdsmen started indiscriminate attacks and killings on Saturday around the communities of BerAwuna, Dogo, Ortese – Mbashian, Tse Igyu, Tse Gebe, Anbighir, Tse Iwa, Gbaikyo, Agudu, Nyorum, Shonto and Abuku in three major kindred of Mbade, Mbagoho, Mbashian, Mbaboor and Wuav of Benue State.
He lamented that the violent attacks continued unabated without the intervention of any security agency throughout that Saturday, stressing that 20 people were killed by the armed herdsmen, out of which 10 bodies have so far been recovered and deposited at the local government.
“We are worried that these strange herdsmen are heavily armed with sophisticated weapons, seem to be operating or supported by a killer squad of mercenaries that arrived the communities on Friday night on motorcycles and unleashed the mayhem the following day,” he added.
At the end of debate on the motion, the House urged the National Emergency management Agency, NEMA, to send food and relief materials to the affected communities, even as members resolved to summon all heads of security agencies to brief the chamber on their efforts so far to curb the excesses of the herdsmen.
The Deputy Speaker, Yusuf Lasun, who presided over the session, mandated the committees on Special Duties and Police Affairs to ensure the implementation of the resolution.
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