Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia has appealed to the military high command to restore ‘absolute peace’ in the state.
This is just as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, pledged that efforts are on to ensure all Internally Displaced Persons (IPD) camps are closed and all IDPs return home.
Alia made the appeal yesterday after a meeting with the CDS at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja. He told reporters that
Benue State remains vulnerable because four of its local government areas share borders with Cameroon. ‘Hence, the reason for asking the military to come to our aid’.
The governor said the government requested that Forward Operation Bases (FOB) be established in some strategic locations where criminals have turned to hideouts and some areas where solid minerals have been discovered.
He said: “We came to congratulate the CDS for his ascension on this position. We know his track records, and we’re convinced like from Benue, he’s the right to, at this specific time to take us further into the security we seek in the state. We came to also to appreciate what they have been doing.
“The Army has done for so much for the state. We went through different stages for quite some time. But, since we came in, the state has experienced relative peace, and that is the way forward, and we will continue to look forward to more of that.
“We came also to appreciate them. Operation Whirl Stroke is at home with us, and they are in the trenches, but like Oliver Twist, we came to ask for more, we came to present some more prayers, because we want not just relative peace, but absolute peace. The peace in the form that will enable our IDPs return to their ancestral farmland, and for everyone to sleep with their eyes closed. So we’re quite happy he received us very graciously and accepted the prayers we also made.”
The governor maintained that the recent discovery of solid minerals has made the state prone to security challenges, adding that he wants all farmers to be able to return to their family lands.
“Life is just coming back with the support of the military via the Operation Whirl Stroke, and they’re doing great work, but we want some more to be done. We’re praying for Forward Operation Bases (FOB). Four local government areas share border with the Cameroon. Benue State is one of the very top states with solid minerals and many more are being discovered. That, to some degree, has the potential of rendering us vulnerable.
