In order to prevent the escalation of the herdsmen-farmer crisis which had led to loss of lives, President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the immediate movement of the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Ibrahim Idris, to Benue State.
He is also to restore law and order.
President Buhari, according to a statement by Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Jimoh Moshood, gave the order on Monday following a report of increase in killings in Guma and Logo local government areas of Benue State.
Following the order, Moshood said, Idris would proceed to Benue State with five units of Police Mobile Force (PMF).
The five units will join another five units that had earlier been deployed.
This is apart from other security measures put in place.
Said Moshood: “The Aerial Surveillance by Police helicopters will continue, while the Police Mobile Force Personnel, Police Special Forces and conventional Police Personnel, the Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU), Police Explosive Ordinance Department (EOD) and Special Police Joint Intelligence and Investigation Teams already deployed to Benue State will carry on relentlessly with the patrols and crime prevention activities in the affected areas to sustain the normalcy that have been restored in the state.”
He added: “The Force will not hesitate to deal decisively with trouble maker(s), any group(s) or individual for conduct likely to instigate the escalation of the crisis. The full weight of the law will be applied on anyone arrested for being responsible for the mayhem in the affected areas in the state.
“While once again, the Nigeria Police Force commiserate with Government and the people of Benue State over the loss of innocent lives, the Force implored them to cooperate with the Nigeria Police Force in this latest effort to restore lasting peace in the state.
“The commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to ensure law and order and protection of lives and property of all Nigerians throughout the country remains unequivocal and unwavering.”
Similarly, a meeting was held on Monday in Abuja to strategise on ways to stop the killings resulting from the crisis between herdsmen and farmers.
Present at the meeting were the IGP Idris, governors of Benue, Taraba, Plateau and Nasarawa, Adamawa, Niger and Kaduna states, and the Minister of Interior, Lt. General Abdulrahman Dambazau.
At the end of the meeting, the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, spoke with journalists, but did not disclose the strategies agreed upon.
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He described the outcome of the meeting as a security measure which should not be made public.
He however disclosed that there is now a synergy among the security agencies, the federal and state governments to stop the mayhem.
His words: “As you can see all the governors of the states where we have the most challenging security problem are here.
“We have dialogued; we have looked at the problem with the security chiefs and appreciated each other.
“One thing that is central is that we have agreed that killing in any form is not allowed; security men must apprehend and prosecute those responsible.
“There is no point politicising these killings; it is the responsibility of all Nigerians to eliminate the criminality that is resulting in the killings.”
