September 04, (THEWILL) – The member representing Makurdi North Constituency in the Benue State House of Assembly, Hon. Alfred Emberga, has called on the State Government to mobilise security forces to end the continuous killing of his constituents in cult-related attacks which has claimed several lives in the North Bank area.
Emberga, who is the Deputy Majority Whip, said between January and August 2024, about 50 lives have been lost in the North Bank area alone to cult-related attacks.
He moved the motion at a plenary session presided over by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Hyacinth Aondona Dajoh, and called on the State Government to mobilise security agencies to investigate and stop the incessant killings.
He explained that Nigeria, as a country, and Benue State in particular have witnessed a rise in cultism and cult-related activities in the wake of the 21st century when educational institutions and communities, especially those in the urban centres, became home to different confraternities.
According to the lawmaker, in response to a national call to checkmate cultism and remove it from the system, the Benue State House of Assembly, on April 27, 2017, passed the Abduction, Hostage-taking, Kidnapping, Secret Cult and Similar Activities (Prohibition) Law and it became enforceable on May 22, 2017, with the Governor’s assent.
The Deputy Majority Whip informed members that seven years after the passage of this law, cultism and cult-related activities have continued unabated in different parts of the state, particularly in the North Bank area of Makurdi where young boys between the ages of 12 and 29 are being recruited into different cult groups to cause mayhem and unsettle the peace in the area.
“Only three weeks ago, a man was gunned down by cultists at a barber’s shop in North Bank where he came to have a haircut. The most recent incident occurred on Monday, 19th August 2024, in the same North Bank area where ten people were hacked down under similar circumstances,” he said.
Emberga expressed worry that if not properly checked, the heinous and dastardly act of killing innocent people under the guise of cult clashes will continue to tamper with the peace hitherto enjoyed by the people of North Bank settlement over the years.
The House, therefore, resolved and condemned in its entirety the dastardly act of killing innocent people by cult groups in the North Bank area of Makurdi and anywhere in the state.
The House directed the Benue State Government to mobilise relevant security agencies to investigate and stop the killing of innocent people in the state.
It further directed the Benue State Police Command, Department of State Services and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to deploy more personnel for surveillance to the area to check the incessant killing.
The House identified Yogbo Road, Behind ECWA Secondary School, Lafia Junction and Veterinary Layout as major areas hit by the menace.
Supporting the motion, Hon. Terwase Uche accused the security agencies of compromising their core responsibility of the protection of lives and property.
He lamented that despite the establishment of 72 Army barracks and the Nigerian Army School of Military Engineering (NASME) in the North Bank area, the continued killing of innocent people persists unhindered.
