…assures Igbo community in Benue
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State government has assured the Igbo community and other Nigerians living and doing business in the state that the current massive onslaught against criminals was yielding results and cases of kidnapping in the state would soon become history.
The assurance came on the heels of a recent outcry by Igbo leaders in Benue state that their kith and kin were being kidnapped and extorted by criminal gangs in Gboko and some parts of the state.
The Governor in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, CPS, Terver Akase reiterated that the combined forces of the army, police and other security agencies had intensified operations particularly in crime flash-points and huge success was being recorded.
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Ortom said, “The recent crackdown on a kidnappers’ hideout at Gbatse in Ushongo local government area where the kingpin and his gang were apprehended was a result of the collaboration between my administration and security operatives.
“Therefore the statement published in some national dailies by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law which claimed that Igbos in Benue State are targets of ‘coordinated attacks and threats of annihilation’ is misleading.
“Armed robbers and kidnappers do not recognize ethnicity. They target any individual or group for ransom and other forms of extortion. In Benue, like any other state, people of different ethnic groups have fallen victim to kidnappers.”
The Governor assured that he would soon address the security concerns the Igbo community raised priming that he would soon meet with their leadership and other stakeholders of the group. Nigeria News
