The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, on Thursday said the state government would legally procure Ak-47 rifles for its security outfit, Community Volunteer Guards.
Ortom disclosed this in Makurdi, the state capital at the unveiling of the security outfit just as states including Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, and Zamfara also indicated that they would arm their security agencies as insecurity worsened in the country.
Also on Thursday, representatives of security agencies, the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, the diplomatic corps, and select government ministries, held a summit in Abuja on Thursday with a view to ensuring that schools are secure and re-opened
At the unveiling of the Benue State Security outfit, Ortom revealed that the state was being attacked as a result of the people’s refusal to surrender their land.
Ortom said that 500 people drawn from the 23 local government areas of the state were recruited in the first batch and participated in the passing out parade that was held at the IBB Square, Makurdi.
The governor said that his administration decided to constitute the security outfit due to the failure of the Federal Government to disarm the militias.
He pledged that his administration would legally procure AK-47s, AK-49s, and other sophisticated weapons for the security operatives.
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Ortom stated, “Given the fact that the Federal Government has consistently failed to disarm the terrorists who have continued to maim and kill our people at will, the state government is going to apply for a license to legally procure AK-47, AK-49, and other sophisticated weapons for the Benue State Volunteers Guards to enable them to tackle these murderous terrorists effectively.
“To do this effectively, the Benue State Government had approved a two-week capacity building programme for 500 personnel of the Community Volunteer Guards to learn some basic paramilitary aspects.”
He promised that operations of the Benue State Community Volunteer Guards would be strictly guided by the law and warned that any official found operating outside the said law would be shown the way out.
Thirty operational vehicles and 200 communication gadgets were procured to enable the Volunteer Guards function maximally.