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From John Adams, Minna
As the security challenges in parts of Benue State continue unabated, with attendant loss of lives and property, youths under the umbrella of the Edumoga Youth Association (EYA) have concluded plans to convene an expanded security summit in order to devise ways to minimise the situation.
The Edumoga Youth Association, made up of over 250 communities in the Edumoga district of Okpokwu Local Government Area of the state, said the continued rise in cases of kidnapping, farmer-herder clashes, cultism among youths, and other forms of criminality must be addressed to stop the bloodbath, hence the urgent need for an expanded security summit to chart a way forward.
According to the National President of the association, Alhaji Lucky Itodo, who spoke to our correspondent in an interview on the motive behind the security summit, the people of these communities, who are predominantly farmers, have lost their peace due to the myriad of security challenges bedevilling the areas.
He said insecurity has continued to rear its ugly head in these communities due to a number of factors, including the absence of security in the area and the large ungoverned space. He stressed that the over 250 communities under the Edumoga district, with an estimated population of 900,000 inhabitants, and predominantly farmers, have lived without any security presence since their establishment.
Itodo lamented that the closest police station to these communities is the Divisional Police Station in Okpoga, the headquarters of the local government, about 100 kilometres away, “and this has exposed the people to a number of security challenges, including farmer-herder clashes, kidnapping, armed robbery, and, very lately, cultism.”
The EYA President disclosed that since the creation of Benue in 1976, these communities have existed without any security presence and have relied on self-help efforts through voluntary security services provided by local vigilantes in the areas. This, he said, has rendered life meaningless for the people, pointing out that, “this is high time we come together as a people to chart a course and take our destiny into our hands to proffer solutions.”
“All we are trying to do is to come up with a comprehensive plan towards addressing this situation and see how we can complement the efforts of the government to bring security closer to the people. We have conceived the idea of building a police station and donating it to the Nigerian Police in order to make its presence felt in the area.
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“It is unfortunate that about 250 communities with an estimated population of 900,000 people cannot boast a police station or any security presence, despite the rising security challenges across the country today, especially kidnapping. These communities are under siege 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 at the local, state, and federal levels on the need to have security presence in these areas, but this has not yielded any result. That is why the youths from these communities, both at home and in the diaspora, under the umbrella of the Edumoga Youth Association, decided to come together to chart a way forward and offer some help for the good of all of us.
“We all know that security is very important 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. It is everybody’s business,” he added.
The President disclosed that cultism has claimed the lives of many innocent youths in recent times, while hundreds have been kidnapped and ransoms worth millions of naira paid by families to secure the release of their loved ones. He stressed that the situation could have been minimised if there were a 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 these communities due to the distance. But with a police station around these communities, it will help in bringing some level of sanity, and that is our prayer,” he submitted.
“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, central to these communities. This, we believe, will go a long way in minimising the current disturbing security challenges in our communities.”
He disclosed that the summit, with the theme *“Security Threat, Mitigating and Awareness Creation”*, is expected to climax with the formal inauguration of the Edumoga Youth Association by the Chairman of Okpokwu Local Government Area, Hon. Adah Matthew Inalegwu, and is slated for between the 27th and 28th of December.
The National President stated that the summit would attract all sons and daughters from the entire Edumoga communities, including both elected and appointed political leaders from the area. It will be chaired by the Senate Minority Leader and Senator representing Benue South Senatorial District, Senator Abba Moro.
