FORMER LAGOS CP FATAI OWOSENI NOW BENUE CP.
Nigeria’s Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Kpotum Idris has appointed Fatai Owoseni as the new Commissioner of Police, Benue State Police Command.
Owoseni’s appointment is coming months after he was replaced as the Lagos State Commissioner of Police by Edgal Imohimi.
The former Lagos CP will replace Bashir Makama as the Commissioner of Police, Benue State command.
The development is coming weeks after herdsmen attacked communities in Guma and Logo local government areas of the state between Monday, January 1 and Tuesday, January 2, the attack in its wake left seventy-three (73) people dead.
Giving reasons for the attack in an interview with BBC Pidgin, a leader of Miyetti Allah cattle breeders in the state, Garus Gololo said the herdsmen were only defending themselves from thieves, adding that over 1000 cows were stolen at Nengere, a community in the state when the herdsmen were moving out of Benue to Taraba state.
Reacting to the development in an interview with Vanguard Governor Ortom said the Nigerian government has abandoned his people in a period Fulani herdsmen have continued to carry out the persistent killing of innocent women and children in the state.
The Benue governor said some people around the president have been deliberately frustrating the attempt by the state government to present the true picture of what is happening in the state for selfish reasons.
However, few days after Governor Ortom said the Federal Government had abandoned his people in this trying period, he met the Nigerian President.
President Buhari took to the micro-blogging site, Twitter to reveal what he told the Benue State governor about the persistent Fulani herdsmen attacks in the North-Central Nigerian.
“I just met with the Governor of Benue State. I assured Governor Ortom of our total commitment to the security of lives & property in Benue and elsewhere.
“We have deployed additional security resources to fish out the attackers, bring them to justice, and prevent further attacks”, Buhari tweeted.
Similarly, TrekAfrica recalls that President Buhari had ordered the Inspector General of Police to immediately relocate to Benue state to restore law and order, following killings perpetrated by Fulani herdsmen.
Buhari gave the order on Monday night, January 8, according to a statement by the police spokesman, Jimoh Moshood.
On Wednesday, January 10, IGP Idris arrived Benue State and was received by the Acting Inspector General of Police in-charge of Zone 4, at the State Police Headquarters.
A tweet on the official social media handle of the Nigerian Police Force reads, “INSPECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE, IGP IBRAHIM K. IDRIS HAS ARRIVED BENUE STATE.
“IGP Ibrahim K. Idris, has arrived Benue State. He was received by the AIG in charge of Zone 4 (Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau) at the Zone 4 Headquarters in Makurdi.”
January 14, President Buhari met Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara on the security situation in Benue state and other parts of the country.
President Buhari called the meeting to brief the National Assembly leaders on the Federal Government’s efforts towards securing Benue state, the official Twitter handle of the Presidency, @NGRPresident confirmed on the micro-blogging site.
President Buhari also met with Benue leaders in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital on Monday, January 15, where he appealed to them to “accommodate their countrymen”, in reference to the herdsmen residing in the state.
