The Deputy Spokesman of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese has accused the Benue State Government of being responsible for the spates of killings in the state in the past few months.
Speaking to Punch, Agbese blamed Governor Hyacinth Alia for what he called his abandonment of the state anti-open grazing law which according to him has led to the increase in the killings of innocent citizens in recent times.
He argued that the House is committed to speaking against all forms of criminality in the country, particularly the killings of defenceless Nigerians and destruction of their property.
He said, “As we resume tomorrow (Tuesday), we are prepared to tackle squarely the issue of insecurity across the country. We are tired of observing one-minute silence in honour of the dead all the time. Like the Speaker, the Right Honourable Tajudeen Abbas always says, the life of every Nigerian is very important to the 10th National Assembly.
“Before his (Gov Alia) election, there was an anti open grazing law in place. He completely abandoned that law and was busy claiming that there were no issues in Benue. The governor kept referring to the ECOWAS Protocol which guarantees free movement of people and goods within the West Africa sub region.
“Truth as that may sound, the ECOWAS Protocol does not make room for reckless human transit without documentation, and this is what some of us pointed out to the governor.
“Before now, when herders came into new settlements, the law required them to give information about themselves to the locals. They were known to the people, but Gov Alia came and changed everything. At a point, he said there was no problem in Benue. We are happy that he is beginning to realise that this is not the way to go.”
Meanwhile, Agbese has called on Alia and his Zamfara State counterpart, Dauda Lawal, to appear before the House Committee on Public Petitions as directed by the Committee Chairman, Mike Etaba last week.
“When asked if there will be consequences if they fail to appear, Agbese said, “Let us not discuss that yet. Let’s hope they will appear. Thursday is not today, and I sincerely hope they will be here. There is no reason to think otherwise,” he added.
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