President Muhammadu Buhari is scheduled to visit Nasarawa State today as part of efforts to ensure peace in some trouble spots.
After Nasarawa, Buhari is slated to visit Taraba, Zamfara and Benue states but the dates of the visits are yet to be decided, a Presidency source said last night.
The President is expected to console victims of herdsmens’ killings and douse tensions in the trouble spots.
•Missing officer safe •Two killed in fresh Fulani attack
The Inspector-General of Police (IG), Ibrahim Idris, has deployed 15 more police units, special forces, and technical and intelligence teams to contain further attacks in Benue State.
Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni spoke yesterday.
He said: “The Inspector-General is seriously committed to ending the killings in the state and the country. It is that commitment that informed the reinforcement of our command to nip crime and killings in the bud.
“The IG has continued to support us. As of today, 15 units’ squadrons from 15 states have been deployed to support the existing officers on ground. Police Special Forces, Intelligence and Technical teams were also deployed.”
Owoseni added that the command has rescued the non-commissioned officer (NCO), who was missing in weekend’s attack on Yogbo, Guma Local Government Area.
According to him, the officer is “unhurt, his weapon safe, in high spirits and has rejoined his colleagues.”
The commissioner said that security operatives were able to flush out the mercenaries from the community and hoped to sustain the success.
He said peace had been restored in Yogbo, adding that the command has deployed forces in “Kwande, Agatu, Gboko, Makurdi, Buruku, Katsina-Ala, Gwer West and Vandeikya councils for proactive measures”.
Two persons have been killed by suspected Fulani militia in Waku village, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.
Waku village is the country home of Senator Joseph Waku, the chairman, Governing Council, Federal University, Akure, Ondo State.
Owoseni and Chairman of Guma council Anthony Shawon, who addressed a news conference yesterday, said two people were killed and others sustained injuries.
Many houses were burnt also.
The Inspector-General of Police,Ibrahim Idris, has deployed 15 additional police units,special forces, technical and intelligence teams to contain further attacks in Benue.
Mr Fatai Owoseni,the Commissioner of Police in the state, disclosed this on Monday in Makurdi while addressing newsmen.
.”The inspector-general is seriously committed to bringing to an end the killings in the state and the country.
“It is that commitment that informed the reinforcement of our command continuously on daily basis to nip in the bud the act of criminality and killings in the state.
“The inspector-general has continued to support us, as of today 15 units squadrons from 15 states have been deployed to support the existing officers on ground.
“We also received the deployment of Police Special Forces, Intelligence and Technical teams in the state,” Owoseni said.
He said the command had rescued a Non- Commissioned Officer (NCO) who got missing during the February attack in Yogbo community in Guma Local Government Area in the battle between police and suspected herdsmen.
He said that the rescued “officer was unhurt, his weapon was safe, he was in high spirit and has rejoined his colleagues in the ongoing operations in Guma”.
The commissioner said that security operatives were able to flush out the mercenaries from the community and hoped to sustain the success recorded.
He stressed that relative peace had been restored in Yogbo village.
He said the command had deployed forces in “Kwande, Agatu, Gboko, Makurdi, Buruku, Katsina-Ala, Gwer West and Vandeikya local government areas for proactive measures”.(NAN)
Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, yesterday identified the controversial anti-open grazing laws in Benue and Taraba states as the source of the unending crisis in the two middle belt states.
The police boss told the Senate joint Committee on Police Affairs and National Intelligence that the enactment of the laws against the opposition of herdsmen was responsible for the problem in the states.
Idris appeared before the joint committee in camera following the directive of the Senate in plenary that he should be summoned to explain why he failed to comply with the mandate of the upper chamber to apprehend perpetrators of the January 1st mayhem in Benue state.
Herdsmen suspected to be Fulani swooped on two Benue communities on New Year Day and killed not less than 73 persons.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Senator Abu Ibrahim, refused to brief reporters after the closed door interface with the IGP.
Ibrahim insisted that he would only report back to the Senate as directed.
A source close to the committee, however, said that Idris was categorical that the anti-open grazing laws in Benue and Taraba should be blamed for the continuing killings in the states.
The source also said that the IGP told the committee that a number of arrests have been made.
The police boss was said to have told the committee that over 120 people have bee arrested as those behind the crisis in the states.
Asked whether the IGP wanted the laws scrapped, the source noted that Idris was not categorical on the issue of scrapping the laws in the two states.
The Senate Thursday expressed concern over the spread of Lassa fever to fourteen states of the federation.
It listed the affected states to include Edo, Ondo, Ebonyi, Nasarawa, Imo, Kogi, Bauchi, Anambra, Benue, Federal capital Territory, Abia, Ekiti and Delta.
It also said that the outbreak of the disease which was first recorded on the 5th of January, 2018, has risen to 363 as against the lesser number of cases recorded in previous years.
It said that out of the 363 cases, 81 persons have tested positive, while 44 persons have been admitted at the Institute of Lassa Fever Research and Control, Irrua Teaching Hospital, Edo State.
About 11 deaths have been recorded, of which 3 are health workers, it said.
Senator representing Edo Central, Clifford Ordia, drew attention of his colleague to ravaging spread of disease in a motion entitled “Urgent need to support the Centre for Research, Control and Treatment of Lassa Fever disease in Nigeria.”
The upper chamber mandated its joint committee on Health and Primary Health Care and Communicable Diseases, to investigate steps taken by the Ministry of Health to curb the spread of the disease.
It asked the Federal Government through the Ministry of Health to urgently provide the Center all necessary equipment to enable it meet its responsibilities to Nigerians seeking medical care at the center.
It also resolved to urge the Ministry of Information and National Orientation to engage in sensitisation and education of the public on the prevention, control and treatment of Lassa fever.
The upper chamber urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to quickly visit the center in Irrua Specialist Hospital for on the spot assessment, with a view to providing relief material to the victims.
Ordia who quoting the World Health Organization said that fever is an acute viral heamorrhagic illness of two to 21 days duration that occurs in West Africa and is transmitted to human through contact with or exposure to food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or faeces.
He said person to person infection and laboratory transmission can also occur particularly in hospitals lacking adequate infection prevention and control equipment.
Ordia said: “The institute is the only centre in Nigeria known for excellence in the management, control and treatment of Lassa fever in Nigeria. The centre received samples from all states referred above for the purpose of examination and treatment.
“The centre also engages in the training of Health care workers, i.e. Doctors, Nurses and Laboratory Technologists on the management of Lassa fever in Nigeria. Last year alone, the centre trained 67 health workers from 15 states with reported cases of the outbreak.
“The centre is presently overwhelmed by the number of samples received, including patients on admission which has stretched the bed space, beddings, Dialysis Machine, X-Ray equipment, Ultra Sound Scan, ECG Machine, Ventilators monitors, human and financial resources beyond limit.”
“The centre is confronted with the challenges of Inadequate protective instruments for the health workers engaged in the management of victims; inadequate drugs, i.e Ribarvirin for patient treatment; inadequate disinfectants and other infection prevention and control consumables; and lack of operational vehicles, public address system and health education materials for contact tracing and community sensitization.”
The Edo Central lawmaker said that the Senate should resolve to make more funds available for the centre in the 2018 budget.
It also urged the Federal Government to set up centres in different parts of the country.
Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who presided, said health care should be one of the major responsibilities of government.
Ekweremadu noted that “If this matter is not addressed, we will be fail in our responsibilities. And to know that this issue has been going on for years is worrisome.
“We need to give this issue the attention it needs. We have enough medical doctors. We need to provide the needed equipment they need to work with. I believe that the committee will help us address the issue. We cannot allow this to continue to spread.”
The Senator representing Benue North East, Barnabas Gemade, yesterday said that the establishment of the Federal Polytechnic, Adikpo, Kwande Local Government Area, Benue State will ensure equity.
He also said that the polytechnic will provide qualitative education in technology, applied science management and other fields of studies.
Gemade stated this during the second reading of a Bill for an Act to establish the Federal Polytechnic, Adikpo, Benue State to provide full time courses in technology, applied science management and other fields of studies and to make provisions for the general administration of such polytechnic, 2018.
He said that the development of polytechnic education is fundamental and a sine qua non in creating a work force for the desired economic diversification and also bridging the unemployment gap and emancipation of the people.
He added that the Bill is therefore a r right step in the right direction as it seeks to address not only the technological needs of “our populace but also provide training in the fields of applied science management, technical and vocational training of artisans for the development of the nation’s diverse economic potentials and industries.”
The Bill scaled the crucial second reading in the Senate with most of the senators speaking in favour of its approval.
In his lead debate, Gemade noted that the Federal Government policy to site federal institutions in every state was established with the creation of 19 states in 1976.
He said that the policy continued and with the creation of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, successive governments have maintained the policy in ensuring that every state of the Federation has a Federal University, a Federal Polytechnic and a Federal College of Education.
The lawmaker noted that commendable as the policy is, the need has arisen to bring about equity in its implementation.
Gemade said that the report of the committee on the modalities of establishing federal polytechnics, colleges of education and universities across the country considered and approved by the Senate on 18th January, 2018, it its findings confirmed the fact that Benue does not have any Federal polytechnic of federal college of education.
“It is against this backdrop that this Bill is being proposed to address these challenges by extablishing a federal polytechnic at Adikpo in Kwande Local Government Area which is very central within the North-East Senatorial District of Benue State which does not have any federal tertiary institution,” he posited.
For exonerating Fulani Herdsmen from the New Year’s Day killing of 73 people in the state, the Benue State House of Assembly yesterday called for the resignation of Minister of Defence Mansur Dan Ali.
The Assembly took the decision after a debate on a Motion of Urgent Public Importance moved by Majority Leader Benjamin Adanyi.
Speaker Terkimbi Ikyange attributed the decision to the “malicious, vexatious and unfortunate comments” by the minister, adding that those comments were indicative that the minister lacked the moral right to remain in office.
He said the minister is completely unaware of the security issues in the sensitive Ministry he is overseeing.
The House also condemned in its entirety what it described as the “reckless” utterances by the minister despite the fact that the killings started before the Anti Open Grazing Prohibition Law validly enacted by the Benue State Government.
The lawmakers commended Governor Samuel Ortom for his firm stance on the implementation of the law.
The Taraba Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr David Kassa says the lingering clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the country is derailing the Federal Government’s agriculture programmes.
Kassa said this at an interactive session with newsmen in Jalingo on Tuesday. According to him, the conflict if not checked can plunge the country into a food crisis.
The commissioner noted that the Federal Government’s appeal for people to go back to the farms in order to divert attention from oil had become counterproductive because of the lingering herdsmen/farmers crisis.
“The Federal Government should treat this issue as a national emergency.
“People have to go to the bushes to practice agriculture, but now, millions of farmers can’t go to farm because of herdsmen attacks, and food crisis is eminent in this country.
“Taraba and Benue are known for food production, but today millions of farmers in these states and beyond can’t go to their farms.
“It’s a thing of concern and the Federal Government must act fast to avert food crisis in the coming year,” he said.
Kassa appealed to the Federal Government to consider putting a legislation that would encourage establishment of ranches as permanent solution to the killings.
According to him, the open grazing prohibition law enacted by the Taraba government is part of deliberate efforts to end the incessant clashes between herders and farmers.
“The Federal Government, the UN and other agencies can come in and provide incentives for people to go into ranching, which is the best practice of cattle rearing all over the world today.
“Government can do that by encouraging herders to form cooperative societies as its being done in other crop practice to make it easy for government and the international organisations to easily identify them for intervention,” he said.
The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress ( NLC ), Mr Ayuba Wabba, has urged workers to get their Permanent Voter Cards ( PVCs ) to vote out state governors owing salaries and allowances.
A statement signed by Ms Freda Ukpoju, Media Officer, Say No Campaign, a Civil Society Organisation ( CSO ), on Tuesday quoted Wabba as making the call at the group’s “DoroCorruption programme’’ held in Abuja.
Wabba decried the ordeal of workers at the hands of state governments in Nigeria, insisting that the Nigerian government treat workers like slaves.
“It is time the workers used their numbers to push back; I encourage members to get their PVCs to vote out every defaulting state governor.
“State governments owing salaries were given bailouts and different Federal Government interventions, including the Paris club funds meant to offset their debts to state workers.
“While some have met their responsibilities and paid off, chronic debtors like Benue and Kogi states remain adamant in fulfilling their responsibilities and clearing their debts.
“The challenge is not lack of resources but sheer unwillingness and misplaced priorities. ‘’
Wabba said that the reality of the matter was that the problem had never been about resources, saying “In most of those states, their priority is not to pay salaries but white elephant projects.’’
He said that before this current administration came in, Plateau owed seven months salaries but through ingenuity, the governor utilised all the money given to him to settle everybody.
He said that many states had utilised their money, but some states, about twelve of them, including Benue and Kogi had failed.
He, however, said that the governors should be held accountable because democracy was about the people.
He said that if as governors, they were not able to address the fundamental constitutional issue of security and welfare of the people then the people also must be able to hold them accountable.
“Workers and pensioners must unite to use their PVC to chase these type of people out of government; if workers, in unity, demand it and also use their power of franchise to vote them out of office,’’ he said.
Also speaking, the co-convener, Say No Campaign, Mr Ezenwa Nwagwu, encouraged citizens to join unions or associations and actively participate in ensuring that their collective interests were championed.
Nwagwu said that where members noticed that leadership had been compromised or failed to promote their interest, there should be no hesitation in voting such leaders out.
He said that the demand for accountability should begin at the communities level, adding that only when citizens were able to hold their leaders accountable, would they have the courage to hold government accountable.
He advised Nigerians not to be divided along ethnic or religious sentiments in the demand for accountability because citizens needed to develop the culture of giving ultimatums to government and demand urgent response to their plights.
He condemned state governors owing workers and insisted that they were inflicting the worst kind of terror on their people by attacking their means of survival.
The was disclosed on Sunday by a reliable Presidency source.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity said “The role of bandits and suspected mercenaries in what has become known as herdsmen/ farmer clashes and violence may have provoked the need for a fresh approach to dealing with the crisis, informed sources close to the Working Group formed recently by the National Economic Council have hinted.”
“The settled view in official circles is that the reported killings and violence recorded are the work of bandits and mercenaries since in many cases the herdsmen are often well-known in the communities where their cattle normally graze.”
According to him, the new position is one of the outcomes of the Working Group formed less than two weeks ago by the National Economic Council with 9 Governors, and chaired by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.
According to the Kano State Governor Dr. Ganguje who read out highlights and decisions of the NEC to reporters (alongside his Ebonyi counterpart ) after the Council meeting that Thursday the Working Group “will work in accordance with the President’s commitment to ensuring that all perpetrators of violence are brought to book.”
The highlights also noted that the Working Group which consists of Governors from Zamfara, Kaduna, Adamawa, Benue, Taraba, Edo, Plateau, Ebonyi & Oyo States actually commenced its work with a meeting presided over by the VP right immediately after NEC at the Presidential Villa.
The source disclosed that at the end of the Working Group meeting last week, it was clear a major turning point had been reached in the management of the crisis and sufficient consensus recorded on the need to stop the impunity by engaging the military in a more decisive manner.
Some political analyst had indicated that the crisis also required a political solution considering the religious and ethnic tones that could easily become further exacerbated and possibly worsen the situation if proper and timely care is not taken.
“This is the reason analysts argue, even with some critical opinions on the composition of the Working Group, that the idea of gathering together governors across the country including the states where the crisis have been intense to collaborate actively among themselves and with the FG to address the situation is useful.
“Indeed one of the firm outcomes of the Working Group’s meeting was the expressed readiness of the FG to locate and identify the bandits who perpetrate the killings and the violence, and using all necessary means including military involvement to flush them out of their hideouts in forests across the country as a definite move to secure the life and property of Nigerian citizens.
“The Working Group has also resolved to work with the FG to strengthen law enforcement and all security & intelligence agencies in the country so they can coordinate better in dealing with, checkmating, and preventing the crisis from further escalation.”
On how to permanently address the basis of the herdsmen and farmer clashes, the Working Group sources said that they have taken the view that every State should by a rigorous consultative process with all stakeholders design its own solutions.
“The Federal government will not impose any solution on any State. The Vice President assured all that the Federal government would certainly not imposed its ideas n the States and noted that fears being expressed on cattle colonies are misplaced” he said
“Also the Nigerian Police and other security & military agencies have been asked to recruit more rank and file to tighten security in the troubled spots and in the country generally.” he said