Kogi state House of Assembly has condemned the recent attacks by the fulani herdsmen on some villages of Dekina, Omala and Bassa Local Government Areas of the state and urged the government to bring the perpetrators to justice to forestall further attacks.
In a motion of urgent public importance moved by the lawmakers representing Omala, Dekina and Bassa state constituencies, Rt. Hon. Aliyu Akuh, Moses Ododo and Sunday Shigaba respectively, the lawmakers appealed to the government to be alive to its responsibility of protecting lives and properties.
They noted that the recent attack, if not promptly curtailed, can snowball into a full scale war.
Presenting the motion, Hon. Aliyu Akuh of Omala constituency stated that the full blown crisis erupted on the 14th of March 2018 between the herders and the people in which over 50 persons, mainly women and children and many houses were completely burnt down by the invading herders.
He warned that the crisis which hit over ten villages simultaneously in the three LGAs has created fears in the minds of the people who can no longer go to their farms and even hold social gathering. He stressed that the government should be move proactive in preventing further occurrence.
The lawmakers lamented that in less than a week after the governor Alhaji Yahaya Bello visited Ojuwo-Ajomaiyeigbi, one of the attacked villages, the herders moved freely to Attack Agbenema in Omala LGA, killing and burning down houses, stressing that there is more to the attack than meet the eyes.
They lamented that the crisis which have left the people homeless has created humanitarian crisis across the LGAs. They called on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and its state counterpart to come to the aid of the people who are suffering from essential foods and consumables.
In his contribution, the Deputy Speaker, Hassan Abdullahi (Dekina/Okura) noted that the fears of the attack by the fulani herders in some states like Benue, Taraba, Plateau and Nassarawa states have come to the state with its consequences in the brutal killings of the people of Igala and Bassa kingdoms.
He urged the securities agencies to be alive to their constitutional responsibilities in tackling the menace so that it will not escalate to a level that the people will have no option than to resort to self help.
In the same vein, Hon. Friday Alih Adoyi (Ofu, PDP) charged security agents to fish out the perpetrators and bring them to justice. He explained that the herders were not ghosts that will attack a village and move to other ones without the law enforcement agencies tracking them.
He commended the governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello for his prompt visit to the troubled areas. He called for more assistance to alleviate the sufferings of the victims.
According to Hon. Omofaiye Victor (Ijumu); “This recent attack and the previous ones by the fulani herdsmen against the people is nothing but a national malaise. We urge the government to ensure that these killers are brought to book. It should not be swept under the carpets like previous killings”
The House advised the security agencies to involve more of security intelligence gathering and to deploy more personnel to carry out surveillance patrol along the trough of Rivers Benue and Niger to checkmate their nefarious activities.
While appealing to NEMA and SEMA to provide relief materials for the displaced persons, House stressed that the Federal Government should put in measures to curtail the excesses of the fulani herdsmen against crop farmers across the country.
