Emmanuel Adeyemi, Lokoja.
A non governmental organisation, Search for Common Ground has called for mopping of fire arms in Kogi State.
The Early Warning Coordinator of the organization Mrs. Omolola Mamudu gave the advice on Thursday during a meeting with stakeholders at the Reverton Hotel Lokoja, tagged ‘Conflict Scan Analysis of Post Election Violence’
Speaking on the occasion she lamented that after the November 16 governorship election in Kogi State more violence had been recorded across the state due to the possession of firearms that were in wrong hands in the state
She lamented that kidnappings, armed robbery, killing of innocent people and burning of houses had greatly increased in the state, stressing that continuous mopping of fire arms by the police and relevant security agencies from the hands of political thugs and miscreants should be carried out.
Her words; “Weeks after the November 16 governorship election, Kogi State has recorded some frightening increases in violence in the post-elections phase; the aftermath of electoral violence witnessed before and during the election has led to reprisal attacks and the introduction of several incidents ranging from assault, killings, banditry, and kidnapping in the state
“There is the need for all relevant stakeholders especially the security agencies to beef up security in the state and apprehend the miscreants perpetrating these acts of violence,” she added
She also noted that security should be beefed up in those locations recording incidents of post-election violence and also the need to increase patrol and close surveillance by the police and other security agencies along highways and volatile areas as well as across the state to forestall violence and lessen tension in the state.
“The security agencies should apprehend all those suspected to be involved in perpetrating these violence and adequately prosecute them according to the law; this will go a long way to serve as deterrence to others
“Communities should be very vigilant, set up early- warning mechanisms and report suspected cases early enough to the police and also the need for continuous post-election engagements in some locations, to ease the tension and conflict created during the election.
“This would help aggrieved stakeholders to engage in constructive dialogues and seek ways of common grounds to resolve conflict and political differences,” she said.
She stressed that Search for Common Ground was committed to identifying threats to peaceful election with the aim of strengthening community-based, early-warning systems, conflict prevention and mitigation in potential hotspots of election violence, before, during and immediately after the 2019 Kogi Governorship election.