Benue Killings: Residents advocate communal defence
Residents of Benue State have advocated for a communal approach of self-defence to assist security operatives in tackling insecurity across rural areas. President of Tito Group of Companies, Asiwaju Isaac Akinkunmi, has joined residents in advocating for the establishment of a Community Defence Force (CDF) for vulnerable communities across Benue State. Our correspondent reports that […]
Residents of Benue State have advocated for a communal approach of self-defence to assist security operatives in tackling insecurity across rural areas.
President of Tito Group of Companies, Asiwaju Isaac Akinkunmi, has joined residents in advocating for the establishment of a Community Defence Force (CDF) for vulnerable communities across Benue State. Our correspondent reports that the recent killings, especially in the Yelwata community of Guma Local Government Area, where over 100 people were hacked and burned to death, have sparked calls from various quarters on the need to arm communal youths as a first line of defence.
Akinkunmi, who lamented the devastation and displacement in rural communities across the state by armed invaders, urged the federal government to allow communities to own graded weapons in order to match their attackers on the first line of defence before conventional security intervention.
“The kind of Yelwata attack can best be handled by such communities themselves as the first line of defence by the establishment of a community defence force empowered with weapons under the control of the Inspector General of Police,” he said. “Custodians of such weapons should be the community leaders who would ensure abuse prevention. State police could help but cannot prevent sudden attacks,” he added.