Kaduna gov sets up panel to resettle displaced indigenes
Bandits have killed a soldier and other residents of Kwande and Apa local councils of Benue State, in separate attacks, over the weekend.
It was gathered that the attacks occurred between Saturday and Sunday in the Udedeku community of Maav-Ya, Mkoonmom District, Mbaikyor Council Ward, Turan Jato-Aka, and Ochumekwu in Kwande and Apa.
According to local sources, the bandits invaded the Udedeku community in Kwande and killed many people.
Some locals are said to be missing as of press time.
Confirming the incidents, yesterday, the Force Commander, Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), Maj-Gen Sunday Igbinomwanhia, stated that suspected bandits attacked soldiers deployed in Ochumekwu, resulting in the death of one soldier.
He said: “Suspected armed bandits have attacked soldiers deployed in Ochumekwu, killed one personnel and wounded one. The troops, in response, killed three and injured many of them. They recovered one AK-47 rifle and rounds of ammunition from them.”
Regarding the attack in Kwande, the OPWS Commander mentioned that troops were conducting a clearance operation to flush out suspected foreign bandits, who invaded the local council.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Catherine Anene, acknowledged the invasion of the forest in Kwande, but said she had not received reports of any killing.
MEANWHILE, following the agony faced by victims of terrorists’ attack in Southern Kaduna, Governor Uba Sani has ordered the resettlement of displaced persons back to their ancestral land.
The governor has inaugurated a resettlement committee for people and communities displaced by banditry and violent conflicts in the southern part of the state.
Sani, who was represented by his deputy, Hadiza Balarabe, while inaugurating the committee at the Government House, yesterday, pointed out that Southern Kaduna had faced its share of displacement of individuals and families, due to violence debilitating many parts of the state.
The committee, which has the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr Abdulkadir Meyere; the Overseeing Commissioner Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan; Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Muhammad Shehu among others as members, is chaired by the deputy governor.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Kabiru Mainasibi, is the secretary.
At the inaugural meeting, the deputy governor, who also represented the governor, said: “The primary objective of the committee is to devise comprehensive strategies for the effective resettlement of displaced persons in the southern part of Kaduna.
“As chairman of this vital committee, I am acutely aware of the significance of our task and the responsibility we bear towards our fellow citizens, who have been displaced from their homes due to various challenges.”
