Gyang Bere, Jos
Chair of Nigerian League of Women Voters, Plateau State, Hon Lynda Barau, has urged the Plateau State House of Assembly to urgently pass into law the proposed anti-land grabbing bill to retrieve all land forcibly taken by armed persons in the state.
Hon Barau made the call during a press briefing held at the NUJ Press Centre in Jos, the Plateau State capital.
“We wish to call on the State House of Assembly to as a matter of urgency pass onto law the anti-land grabbing bill which prohibits the forceful occupation of landed properties by armed persons,” she said.
“The bill has some sections that deal with robbery, kidnapping, cultism and violence related matters. This, we believe, if executed, will protect the citizens and secure our ancestral lands, which is our heritage.”
Hon Barau appealed to the Ministry for Humanitarian to act on the submission of Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong, who made a case for the teeming numbers of internally Displaced Persons in the state.
“We call on the Federal Government to provide relief and succour to the widows, orphans and those dislocated and displaced. We call on the state machinery to please follow up on this until a favourable response is secured.”
The women aligned with the resolution of Governors from North-Central states to establish a community policing framework to confront the insecurity threatening the zone.
“We observed with keen interest and joy government’s sincere efforts to strengthen and deepen the peace apparatus in the face of the incessant attacks on our villages and senseless killings of our children and husbands both within and outside the state,” she stated.