From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
The Kogi state House of Assembly has condemned the recent attacks by the herdsmen on some villages of Dekina, Omala and Bassa Local Government Areas of the state and called on the state government to bring the perpetrators to justice to forestall further attacks.
This was in response to a motion of urgent public importance , moved by the lawmakers representing Omala, Dekina and Bassa LGAs, Aliyu Akuh, Moses Ododo and Sunday Shigaba respectively.
The motion which appealed to the government to be alive to its responsibility of protecting lives and properties, noted that the recent attacks, if not promptly curtailed could snowball into a full scale war.
Presenting the motion, Akuh of Omala constituency stated that the full blown crisis erupted on the March 14 between the herders and the people in which over 50 persons, mainly women and children were attacked 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 could no longer go to their farms and even hold social gathering , stressing 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 had visited OjuwoAjomaiyeigbi one of the attacked villages, the herders moved freely to attack Agbenema in Omala LGA, killing and burning down houses, saying 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 and called on the National Emergency Management Agency 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 attacks by the Fulani herders in some states like, Benue, Taraba, Plateau and Nasarawa states have come to the state with its consequences in the brutal killings of the people of Igala and Bassa kingdom.
He urged the security 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, Friday Alih Adoyi (Ofu PDP) charged the security agents to fish out the perpetrators and bring them to justice, explaining that the herders were not ghost that would attack a village and moved to other ones without the law enforcement agencies tracking them .
He commended the governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello for his prompt visits to the troubled areas and called for more assistance to alleviate the sufferings of the victims.
” This recent attack and the previous ones by the fulaniherdsmen against the people is nothing but a national malaise. We urged the government to ensure that these killers are brought to book. It should not be swept under the carpets like previous killings” Victor Adewale (Ijumu) charged.
However, 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 river Benue and Niger to checkmate their nefarious activities.
While appealing to NEMA and SEMA to provide relief materials for the displaced persons, members stressed that the Federal Government should put in measures to curtail the excesses of the Fulani herdsmen against crop farmers across the country.
