The Benue State Government has commended the Federal Government for answering her call to replace Operation Ayem Akpatuma with Operation Whirl Stoke which has flushed out the marauding herdsmen and enabled some of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to start returning to their ancestral homes.
The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Lawrence Onoja stated this known in Makurdi yesterday while briefing newsmen.
Mr Onoja said that the military operation has decimated the invaders making it possible for the displaced persons to return to their homes, even as their homes were reduced to rubbles and their means of livelihood completely destroyed.
He expressed joy with the military personnel who have demonstrated unequalled commitment to providing security for their father land as well as all the families who have lost loved ones.
The commissioner further extended appreciation to other security agencies involved in the operation, particularly troops of the Armed Forces for their effectiveness in curtailing the menace of killer herdsmen in the state.
According to Mr Onoja, “it became imperative to flush out the blood thirsty herdsmen militia who have invaded several communities in the state since January 1st, 2018, carrying out barbaric killings of innocent men and women, children, the aged as well as engaging in a scorched earth policy of destroying everything in sight”.
He disclosed that Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has registered more than 180, 000 displaced persons which it has been catering for in eight camps while over 500, 000 IDPs are taking shelter wherever they find space,” he said.
He further appealed to Benue people and others with information, intelligence, and any other assistance that might be useful in delivering on the mandate of the operation to make it available.
”However we wish to also reiterate our call for the arrest of the leaders of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and the Fulani Nationality Movement (FUNAM) who have openly claimed responsibility for the pogrom in Benue and other states of the Country,” he said.
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