Benue Assembly urges government to take over disputed forest

The Benue Assembly has called on the state government to take over the disputed forest causing perennial dispute among Mbakyaa, Zer and Mbaper communities in Kwande Local Government Area (LGA).

The call followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by Thomas Dugeri (APC/Kwande West) during Tuesday’s plenary in Makurdi.

Mr Dugeri said if the state government took over the land, it would go a long way to bring lasting peace to the area and prevent further clashes.

The lawmaker informed the house that the crisis had lingered for several years despite numerous attempts at peaceful resolutions.

He said that on April 6, the same disputed forest became the centre of renewed conflict involving individuals from Mbaper and Dzev kindreds, resulting in killings and the destruction of property with estimated value of millions of naira.

Mr Dugeri expressed worry that if urgent and decisive action was not taken by the state government, the crisis would continue to escalate and may result in further breakdown of law and order.

He said over 1,000 persons had been so far displaced, stating that the displacement had deepened mistrust among the affected communities.

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Michael Audu (PDP/Adoka-Ugboju), who supported the motion, stated that the land in question was a Government Reserved Area (GRA) and that the government should take possession of it for peace to reign.

Mr Audu stressed that infighting was not good, especially now that Benue communities were experiencing incessant attacks by bandits.

In his ruling, the Speaker, Aondona Dajoh, urged the state government to deploy adequate security operatives to the affected communities to maintain peace, restore order, and prevent further violence.

Mr Dajoh called on the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (BSEMA) to urgently provide relief materials, including food, shelter, and medical support, to affected and displaced persons in the crisis-affected areas.

(NAN)