7 killed in Benue IDP camp

Ortom laments herders’ impunity

Gunmen set ablaze High Court, police station in Ebonyi, Sokoto

Seven Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in a camp in Abagena, a Makurdi suburb in Benue State, were killed by suspected herdsmen on Monday night.

According to Nation Newspaper, the attackers stormed the community and destroyed many houses before moving into the camp.

One of the victims sustained injuries and later died at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital.

Eyewitnesses said the gunmen overpowered the security operatives at the camp and operated from midnight till 2 am unchallenged.

The camp, about 10 minutes from Makurdi, is located on Makurdi-Lafia road. It has 8,620 displaced persons.

Governor Samuel Ortom, who visited the camp after the incident, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to address Nigerians.

“Mr President must speak out and not Garba Shehu, his spokesman,” Ortom said.

The governor said over 70 persons were killed in two weeks in Makurdi, Gwer West and Guma LGAs.

“Mr President must rise up as he is the President of Nigeria with over 200 ethnic nationalities. He has taken an oath of office to protect lives and property and cannot afford to be aloof. He must address the nation and tell us where we are going,” Ortom said.

Ortom asked the President to declare a state of emergency on the deteriorating security situation.

“My colleagues, the governors, must rise and impress on the president to call a security summit, if possible, to declare a state of emergency on security so that all hands will be on deck to address the situation in the country.

“How do you reconcile a situation where Mr President gives an order to security agents to shoot at sight anyone illegally seen with AK47 and a minister counters it?” the governor lamented.

Court, police station burnt in Ebonyi, Sokoto

Also on Tuesday, suspected hoodlums set ablaze the Federal High Court in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.

The incident affected the library and security post; records were destroyed.

The court is along the Enugu/Abakaliki Highway opposite the state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) office.

A source told our correspondent that the hoodlums used firebombs.

Firefighters stopped the fire from spreading.

Police spokesperson Loveth Odah said no arrest had been made.

“Hoodlums in the early hours of Tuesday wielding dangerous weapons stormed the court and burnt part of the building.

“No arrest has been made, but an investigation is ongoing,” Odah said.

The Police in Sokoto State confirmed the death of one person and the burning of a divisional police station and two vehicles in the Kware Local Government Area.

The spokesman Abubakar Sanusi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that this was after a mob came to the station demanding the release of two suspected kidnappers.

He said they overpowered the operatives guarding the station and burnt it down along with the DPO’s car and two police vans.

He added that the mob killed one of the suspects and injured the other.

Also on Tuesday, an expectant mother, Mrs Ngbeke Oti, was abducted in Ebonyi.

The mother of four was allegedly seized by suspected warlords when she accompanied her friends from an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp to harvest cassava in Ebeta village.

The woman, who hails from the Arochukwu Local Government Area of Abia State was living in Effurun with her family before they were displaced by the crisis that erupted in the area.

Odah said the Police have launched an investigation

Pig farmer shot dead in Owerri

Security operatives manning the Government House axis of the Imo State capital yesterday shot a pig farmer, whose name could not be immediately confirmed.

It happened a day after soldiers guarding the Government House killed a student of the Imo State University, Miss Divine Nwaneri.

The farmer was carrying pigs in his 14 seater bus.

The deceased’s remains were seen in his vehicle where it crashed at the Government House bus stop on Bank Road.

A resident, Ndubuisi Uba, said there was panic and apprehension among the citizens

Blame #EndSARS for rising crime

Delta Police Commissioner, Dr Ari Mohammed Ali, said more arms are now in the hands of hoodlums following the looting of police stations during the #EndSARS protests.

He told reporters in Asaba that the protest, which began with a genuine intention, was hijacked by internet fraudsters, kidnappers, cultists and armed robbers.

Ali said the security agencies, particularly the police, were the worst hit, as many police personnel were killed, police formations, vehicles vandalized and armouries looted.

He said police personnel were disillusioned and their morale dampened due to the losses suffered, forcing them to withdraw their presence in public places for fear of being attacked.

Ali said cultism and kidnapping were the most prevalent crimes in the state but assured that the police command was tackling them.

He sought the cooperation of the public in crime-fighting, saying that information and intelligence gathering, which should come from the public, were key to effective policing.

Source: thenationonlineng.net