January 5, 2018

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday summoned the Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris over reported killings in Benue and other communal conflicts in the country and enjoined him to tighten security across the nation.

Speaking to State House correspondents after the closed door meeting with the President, Idris said he updated the president on the efforts of the police towards ensuring law and order in various communities in the country.

According to him, it is duty bound on him to regularly brief the president on security developments in the country, saying “currently Nigeria is well secured.’’

On the recent killings in Benue, the IGP revealed that the police would make additional deployments to the troubled areas to forestall further attacks and restore confidence of the people.

“You know I deployed my (Deputy Inspector-General) DIG there yesterday and you know we have different stages of police, you have the AIG in Benue, Commissioner of Police in Benue and all of them are putting their heads together to see how we can address this issue of communal problems in Benue,’’ he said.

He dismissed the assertion that the Nigeria Police was overwhelmed by the current security challenges in the country.

The police chief said that new measures had been put in place to safeguard lives and property of law abiding citizens.

Idris, however, stated that Nigerians must learn how to co-habit peacefully to make the work of the police much easier.

The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that armed gunmen had on Jan. 2, unleashed violence and mayhem on some rural communities in Benue where about 20 persons were killed.

President Buhari had on Wednesday condemned the killings, and wanton destruction of property in the affected communities in Guma and Logo Local Government Areas of the state.

He commiserated with the government and people of Benue over the reported killings.

The president had also expressed outrage at reports of killings of innocent persons in Omoku, Rivers, and the traditional ruler of Numana, Kaduna State, the Etum Numana, Dr Gambo Makama, and his wife.

The traditional ruler and his wife were killed in Sanga Local Government Area of Kaduna State in the New Year.