From Scholastica Onyeka, Makurdi
Following the increased attacks on farmers and farming communities in Benue State, the Tiv Area Traditional Council has urged the Federal Government to deploy more personnel of the Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), to fight terrorists and bandits in the state.
This was contained in a communique reached at the end of the emergency meeting of the Council, on Tuesday, under the chairmanship of the Tor Tiv and paramount ruler of the Tiv nation, Professor James Ayatse.
The council, which lamented the deteriorating security situation in Tiv land, raised concerns that herdsmen and bandits have crippled farming, travelling and decent living in border communities, and now occupy large territories.
The communique, which was signed the Chairman of the Committee and Secretary, Tiv Area Traditional Council, Clement Uganden, Tor Jechira and Shinyi Tyozua, respectively, commended President Muhammadu Buhari on the OPWS in Benue, and urged him to expand their numerical and technical capacity to fight the terrorists and bandits with greater firepower, and guarantee the safety of lives and property in the state.
The council also commended Governor Samuel Ortom for his visionary legislations in the enactment of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law 2017, Community Volunteer Guards Law implementation, and for supporting federal security agencies in the state to perform effectively.
They also appealed to the federal government to give the necessary support to facilitate the return of victims of the prolonged attacks to their ancestral homes, just as they called on Benue sons and daughters to close ranks and confront common challenges that threaten their very existence.
The council also called on politicians and their agents to carry out issue based campaigns and restrain themselves from the use of offensive language and hate speech during the electioneering, in order to maintain the peace and human dignity in Tiv land. The council also set up a committee to find ways of mitigating the youth restiveness in the land.
The meeting was attended by first, second and third class traditional rulers, among others, who deliberated on security reports from the intermediate areas covering 14 LGAs of the kingdom.