Segun Akanni, Toronto, Canada
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday said that government was deeply worried about the incessant attacks on Benue’s rural communities, and vowed to end the menace “very soon”.Buhari, who met with farmers, herdsmen, government officials and other stakeholders in Makurdi, denied insinuations that he was not interested in what was happening to the north-central state.“I cannot overlook the killings in Benue or any other part of Nigeria. I cannot do that. I am genuinely worried about the attacks in Benue and we are doing everything to end them,” he said.He said that the insecurity in some states was a major concern to his government, adding that concerted efforts were being made to restore normalcy to every part of the country.Buhari said that he was surprised at the revelation that the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, did not spend 24 hours in Benue, when he directed him to relocate to the state and remain there till peace was restored.“I am getting to know this in this meeting. I am quite surprised,” he said.He, however, said that the meeting was not the best place to expose the inefficiency of his appointees, and appealed to Benue people to exercise restraint and live in peace with their neighbours.Buhari appealed to the people to pay more attention to farming, especially rice cultivation, saying that rice importation had dropped by 90 per cent since some states embarked on the massive production of the commodity.Speaking earlier, Gov Samuel Ortom appealed to the President to upgrade the ongoing military exercise in the state tagged “Ayem Akpatema”, to a wider operation to effectively curb herdsmen attacks.
“If the exercise is upgraded to a wider operation, it will assist greatly in ending the incessant attacks and senseless killings by herdsmen,” he saidHe urged Benue people to learn to live in peace with other people.Ortom said that many states were currently involved in the massive cultivation of rice, and urged his people to join the trend.NAN.
