Since Various tiers of government have failed in their responsibility of protecting the lives and property of the Tiv people and Benue State citizens in general, there is the need for community approach to security, self-help
The Forum of Ayatutu Professors, a group of Benue-born academics of Tiv extraction, has suggested community policing as a solution to the insecurity caused by armed herdsmen in the state.
To enhance security, they propose expanding the role of the Benue State Bureau of Homeland Security to protect farming communities.
This approach, they believe, would help tackle the menace and ensure the safety of lives and property in the affected areas.
Following an emergency meeting in Makurdi, the capital of Benue State, the Forum of Ayatutu Professors issued a statement calling for community policing to address the security challenges posed by armed herdsmen.
Signed by Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Council of Management, Prof. Tor Iorapuu, and Secretary, Prof. Simon Irtwange, the statement emphasized that this call was necessitated by the government’s perceived failure to adequately protect the lives and property of the state’s residents.
The professors expressed concern over the persistent insecurity and urged stakeholders to adopt a more proactive approach to safeguarding their communities.
The statement read, “Pursuant to the aims and objectives for its formation, the Forum of Ayatutu Professors met and discussed the ongoing killings in Benue State by the marauding armed herdsmen and their sponsors for purposes of islamization, land grabbing, disruption of the economy, the culture and education of the people, mining of minerals among others.
“The forum ackhowledged that despite the efforts of the various tiers of government, they have failed in their responsibility of protecting the lives and property of the Tiv people and Benue State citizens in general.
“The forum agreed that in the immediate, there is the need for community approach to security, self-help, but it must be within the framework of careful post-conflict management of its complexities.”