Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has appealed to the Federal Government to allow ‘responsible citizens’ to wield sophisticated weapons such as AK-47 rifles to protect themselves from attacks.
Ortom stated this on Wednesday, August 12 during the virtual meeting convened by Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL) in collaboration with Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF).
In the statement titled “Insecurity and Governance Challenges in the New Normal”, the Governor said governments at all levels must come to terms with the fact that insecurity is a real threat to the development of the country and be willing to sincerely tackle the menace.
He urged the Federal Government to grant licences to responsible citizens to carry sophisticated weapons such as AK47 to deter criminals from attacking innocent and helpless Nigerians.
According to Ortom, the policy should be backed by a strict legal framework to prevent illegal possession of arms by the citizenry without exception.
He also recommended adequate funding of security agencies and continuous training of their personnel to enable them be abreast of global dynamics in the fight against insecurity.
The Governor also urged the Federal Government to embrace ranching as it is the global best practice of animal husbandry and enact a law to end open grazing.
According to him, these will prevent attacks on farming communities by armed herdsmen militia.
In his statement, Governor Ortom advocated for improved educational standards, particularly for youths to shun negative acts and become more patriotic.
Speaking on hard drugs affecting youths, Ortom called for the repositioning of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to confront drug barons and peddlers; a move he said would stop illegal drugs from entering and circulating in the country.
Governor Ortom also recommended that the embargo on employment be lifted and more job opportunities created to take Nigerian youths from the streets.
