PURIMAC Raises Concern Over Unwarranted Killings In Agatu LGA, Urges Fed Govt To Restructure Destroyed Homes

Yakubu Busari

The country representative of PURIMAC Director ,Mr Godwin Okoko has raised concern over renewed killings of innocent people of Agatu Local government Area of Benue State.

The country director reiterated the need for government to create platform form for dialogue between the farmers and the herders to end the crisis .

Okoko stated this in an exclusive interview  at the Plateau State ,Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) on Friday in Jos .

He condemned the unwarranted killings in Agatu between herders and farmers leading to the displacement of millions of women and children in the local government council .

Godwin Okoko described the attack as barbaric and uncalled with sadness for the people of Benue who have been living peacefully to be killed by unknown gunmen .

He stresses that ,the office is partnering with traditional rulers to organize trauma and dialogue, counseling to train the people on how to recover from their trauma.

Okoko urged the federal government to restructure all the destroyed houses to enable the people to go back and resettle and pick their lives

“I had the opportunity to visit  the displaced people camp to see their deplorable conditions where many women and children are suffering no food ,no shelter and poor recreation facility “.

He appealed to the federal government to rebuild all destroyed houses of internally displaced persons to commence this farming season in good faith .

Okoko maintained that in managing crisis in Agatu  security should be deployed to protect the lives and properties of the people so that they can go back to their communities and rebuild them with confidence .

“We need to safeguard the sanctity of the lives of human being, not to allow them to be kill by suspected masqueraders “,he explained.

He said the plight of those internally  displaced people had cause serious  challenges to the affected communities who need urgent support to go back and begin their new life .

It is quite unfortunate with the rising cases of violence and killings within Nigeria and outside which has to do with issues of farmers and Fulani herdsmen that had wrecked havoc to many lives which had  never been addressed ,he noted .

According to him, before now the population was just 60 million but Nigeria is having over 170 million people ,we don’t expect us to remain the same after 50 years back but to strategies on new Nigeria .