Group Slams Alia’s N853bn IDP Budget, Demands Action Against Killer Herdsmen

Civil Rights advocacy group, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has slammed Benue State governor Mr. Hyacinth Alia over his N853bn programme to support Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the state.

The group in a statement by its National Coordinator Emmanuel Onwubiko challenged the governor to effectively govern the state in such a way that the suspected armed Fulani herders responsible for the pogroms of Benue State farmers are arrested, prosecuted and punished for the crimes against humanity committed against the good people of Benue state.

HURIWA spoke against the backdrop of a recent public notification by Governor Alia, that his administration has launched a five-year, N853bn programme to support Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

The governor, during the unveiling of the Action Plan in Makurdi, said the aim was to foster the IDPs safe return to their ancestral homes.

According to him, the Action Plan, also known as Durable Solutions, outlines a three-pronged approach to tackle the crisis: Return, Reintegration, and Resettlement.

“Before I assumed office, my dream was to see a day when every IDP has returned to their ancestral home,” the governor said.

HURIWA which reacted to the unveiling of the resettlement blueprints inaugurated by the Benue State governor, expressed shock that the state administration has focused so much on throwing money at the debilitating security fiasco in Benue State rather than also mandating the justice institutions and the security forces to arrest the killers and bring them to justice.

The Rights group stated that no matter how much is invested for the resettlement of the internally displaced people, so long as the killers are roaming about freely, the victims of the crimes against humanity are therefore denied justice.

“The constitution of Nigeria has explicitly provided that the primary duty of government is the security of the citizens and the advancements of their wellbeing and welfare.

HURIWA added that “until the suspected terrorists that carried out the serial mass killings and genocide in Benue State are arrested and punished sternly in accordance with the extant laws, there would be no closures to these despicable and intolerable crimes of genocide.”

Group Slams Alia’s N853bn IDP Budget, Demands Action Against Killer Herdsmen is first published on The Whistler Newspaper