NKRUMAH BANKONG-OBI/Lafia
Worried by the rising spate of kidnapping and other criminal activities in Nasarawa State, the Governor, Abdullahi Sule has called a meeting of all security agencies in the State to deliberate on ways of curbing the spike. The governor gave this indication as he opened the security Council meeting at the Government House, Lafia.
Governor Sule said he was concerned about the escalation of some security challenges for a period he travelled to pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia as well as the emerging threats posed by ethnic militias.
He noted that several areas in the norther and southern senatorial districts are affected, hence the need for the meeting to find solutions to the problem. “The purpose of the meeting has to do with the security situation that we have seen, especially during my absence, when certain issues were escalated. It is indeed a point of worry that we continue to see an increase in the number of kidnappings, especially in Doma, Lafia, Awe, Obi, Keana, Karu and Nasarawa local government areas,” he said. Governor Sule also noted the rise in the “activities of the Bassa militia terrorizing innocent people, especially in areas surrounding Shegye, Katakpa and some other villages in Toto Local Government Area.
The governor also pointed at the communal disputes as canons for the security disturbances in the State. “We have on the other hand seen some increase in the dispute especially between communities similar to the one that we have seen in Udege area where a person was killed as a result of misunderstanding within the same ethnic group.”
The governor therefore hinted that the security meeting will consider banning all single ethnic vigilantes that operate in Nasarawa State. He said he had held meetings with President Bola Tinubu and the security topshots before coming home to host the state security council meeting. He noted that “Any particular ethnic group establishing a vigilante will be banned,” he declared.
The Council, Governor Sule said would discuss the crises between farmers and herders in that took place between Eggon and Tiv communities in Kadarko where five people were killed,” he said discussions as to finding a solution to the problem will form part of the agenda at the meeting.