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From John Adams, Minna
Worried by rising cases of armed robbery, kidnapping and cultism in communities in Edumoga District of Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue State, the Edumoga Youth Association (EYA) has concluded plans to build a police station in Ojapo community, to bring security closer to the people.
The youth association also decided to support the local vigilantes currently offering voluntary services in the communities to check the crime rate in the area.
The police station, when completed, would serve the over 250 communities under Edumoga district with an estimated population of 900, 000 inhabitants, and predominantly farmers who have lived without security since the existence of the communities.
The closest police station to the communities is the Divisional Police Station in Okpoga, the headquarters of the local government, about 200 kilometres from the communities, and this has exposed the people to a number of security challenges, including farmers/herders clashes, armed robbery, kidnapping and, very lately, cultism.
Speaking to Daily Sun in an interview shortly after its monthly executive meeting in Abuja, on the proposed police station, the National President, Edumoga Youth Association, Alhaji Lucky Itodo, said the lack of security in the communities has constantly exposed the people to a number of challenges.
The EYA president disclosed that since the creation of Benue State in 1976, the communities have existed without security and have relied on voluntary security services provided by the local vigilantes in the area, and this, he said, has made live meaningless to the people, pointing out that “the closest police station to the communities is in the local government headquarter, Okpoga, which is about 200 kilometres.
“It is unfortunate that about 250 communities, with an estimated population of 900,000 people, cannot boast of a police station or any security presence, despite the rising security challenges all over the country today, especially kidnapping. These communities are undersigned from all forms of security challenges, including armed robbery, because every market day people are being robbed at gunpoint while returning from the markets.
“As a people, we have made several appeals to the government, both at the local, state and even federal levels, on the need to have security presence in these areas, but this did not yield any result, and that is why the youths from these communities, both at home and in the diaspora, under the umbrella of Edumoga Youth Association, decided to come together to offer some help.
“We have decided to come up with the idea to build a police station to be donated to the Nigerian Police Force, which will be situated at Ojapo which is central to the communities. This, we believe, will go a long way to minimise the current disturbing security challenges in our communities.”
He said apart from the rising cases of kidnapping and armed robbery, the communities were beginning to witness cases of cultism among some youths he described as “disgruntled”, warning that “if nothing is done to arrest this development, we might not have a place to call home.”
He pointed out that every son and daughter of the communities would key into the all important project, which is meant to bring some relief to the people and allow them embark on their farming and other commercial activities, adding that “we all know that security is very key to the development and survival of any society, and that is why we can no longer wait for the government to do it for us. Because security is everybody’s business.”
The president disclosed that cultism claimed the lives of no fewer than five youths in a recent cult war, while hundreds have been kidnapped and ransom worth millions paid by families to secure the release of their loved ones, stressing that the situation could have been minimised if there was security presence in the area.
“It usually takes hours for the security agents stationed at the local government headquarters to respond to distress calls from the communities due to the distance, but, with a police station around the communities, it will help in bringing some level of sanity, and that is our prayers,” he submitted.
