The Benue State Government is to set up a Judicial Commission of Enquiry into the recent civil unrest witnessed by the people of Gwer West Local Government Area.
The Executive Governor of Benue State, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia disclosed this Thursday in Naka, the headquarters of Gwer West Local Government Area during his visit to the area following a civil unrest by youths of the area that occured on March 11th 2024 during which the Ter Tyô-Shin’s Palace and the Local Government Secretariat and several other structures were razed.
Addressing the people of Gwer West at the Local Government Council Secretariat shortly after inspecting the level of damage, Governor Alia condemned the act saying there are better ways of projecting their grievances.
Governor Alia who assured that the state government will do everything possible in collaboration with security agencies to fish out those behind the incident said Gwer West is experiencing high level of insecurity and does not need such distractions at this critical moment.
He further assured that the Benue State Government is working assiduously with support from the Federal Government to bring the issue of Fulani herders’ attacks on Benue communities to a permanent end.
Earlier while speaking during Governor Alia’s visit to his palace to identify with him and assess the level of damage, the Ter Tyô-Shin, His Royal Highness, Chief Daniel Abomtse, described the incident as highly motivated, meticulously planned and efficiently executed.
According to Chief Abomtse, “the civil unrest that occured on the 11th of March has a tone that is quite different from civil protests. If those boys were protesting, we didn’t see any placards calling for action from the State Government over any issue. They are a gangster of criminals who had their project oiled by some kingpin somewhere within my domain.
“My subjects under certain influence from somewhere rose up one day and set my palace ablaze.
“I pray that the government will dig deep into the root cause of this incident and take necessary action”.
Also speaking, the Council Chairman, Gwer West Local Government Area, Hon Victor Ormin, confirmed the incident and disclosed that investigation is ongoing adding that some suspects have already been arrested.
