Sophia Michaels
A 72-hour ultimatum has been issued to Governor Hyacinth Alia by the Benue State House of Assembly to appoint a Special Adviser on Security.
The ultimatum is a as fallout of the alleged inability to reach the security agencies in the state for timely response to the Otukpo bank robbery.
The ultimatum by the lawmakers followed a motion moved by the member representing Otukpo-Akpa State Constituency, Angbo Kennedy, who among other prayers, demanded that all hotels and leisure spots should open mandatory ledger on all guests, install CCTV cameras and also improve security deployment.
The Speaker, Aondona Dajoh, while ruling on the prayers, gave the governor a three-day ultimatum to appoint a Security Adviser to coordinate state security issues in collaboration with the security agencies, to maintain law and order.
One of the lawmakers, Godwin Edoh, who escaped the Otukpo bank robbery, while narrating the traumatic experience, lamented his inability to reach out to anyone from the government due to the lack of a substantive Security Adviser.
According to the lawmaker, the bank robbery has opened up gaps in the security architecture of the state.
He noted that armed robbers numbering about 30, entered Otukpo town on motorbikes, on Friday, 20th October.
According to him, the robbers snatched operational vehicles from residents and immediately engaged security personnel at the Otukpo Divisional Police Headquarters, killing the DPO and three female officers.
The lawmaker observed that the robbers used dynamites and blew off the entrance to four commercial banks and simultaneously carried out robbery operations, carnage and mayhem that lasted for over an hour unchallenged and without any resistance.
The House, in its resolution, condemned the robbery incident.
The resolution further reads, “That the security agencies should without delay establish the immediate and remote causes of the attack and fish out the perpetrators of the carnage.
“The state government should set up a trust fund to help families and victims of violent attacks across the state with a view to offsetting medical and burial expenses.
“That another police station be established in Otukpo township to support emergency response.
“That the state through the ministries of Health and and Humanitarian and Disaster Management provide at least two fully equipped ambulances to all 23 local government areas to help in emergency time.
“And that all hotels must mandatorily keep a ledger for all entries and exits of its customers with surveillance systems.”
