Lawmaker urges FG to find lasting solution to herdsmen, Agatu crisis

A member of the House of Representatives, Adamu Entonu, on Thursday urged the Federal Government to find lasting solution to the crisis between herdsmen and Agatu community in Benue.

Entonu, who represents Apa/Agatu constituency, made the call at a news conference in Abuja. He said that federal and Benue governments had not adequately addressed the crisis.

According to him, people of Agatu are presently living in fears due to the presence of heavily armed herdsmen who are empowered to resettle in the community by the state government.

Entonu said that the unwillingness of both governments to disarm the herdsmen suggested a sinister agenda that worried the community.

“There is need for the tiers of government to find a lasting solution to the feud because farm crops are being destroyed and farmers are afraid to visit their farms.

“How can the Federal Government be talking about food security, while the food basket of the nation is facing such challenge in the hands of herdsmen? The state government should carry out a holistic disarmament programme, involving both sides rather than intimidating and issuing unnecessary ultimatum to the people.

“Neither the federal nor Benue government has shown any form of empathy or provided any assistance to the Agatu people,’’ he said.

“They have not shown any interest in spite of the outcry of our people as a result of the heavy economic injury inflicted on them by the herdsmen.

“We are sitting on a keg of gunpowder in Agatu; the said agreement entered into by the government has never been acceptable to the Agatu people. There is mayhem going on as women and children are being raped while the men who try to react are being hacked to death.

“A rehabilitation programme that can lead to recovery and sustenance of means of livelihood is highly desirous at a time like this when the people of Agatu are feeling neglected and alienated,’’ Entonu added.

He commended the military for their professionalism in handling the crisis, and condemned the killing of a soldier in efforts to ensure peace in the area.

The soldier was killed in Oleigada Ikolo community of Agatu Local Government Area during misunderstanding between some youths and soldiers.

Entonu, however, assured that the people would ensure that the perpetrators of the act were fished out to face the law.

He called on security agencies to carry out thorough investigation into the killing, adding that the incident may be the handiwork of a fifth columnist.