PHILIP NYAM writes on the resolve by the House of Representatives to investigate the recent bank robbery that occurred in Otukpo, Benue State, during which civilians and security personnel were murdered
Penultimate Friday, the ancient town of Otukpo in Benue State was turned into a bloody enclave as daredevil armed robbers raided five commercial banks after ransacking the Divisional Police in the area. Media reports said, with the use of explosives and sophisticated weapons, all security barriers in the banks were ripped apart, allowing the robbers easy access to the banks and their vaults.
Also, huge sums of money were reportedly carted away by the robbers. The bloody attack also claimed the lives of some police personnel and bank customers who were trapped in the bank premises, when the robbers struck. Among those who lost their lives in the bloody attack were, Otukpo Divisional Police Officer (DPO), an indigene of the area;
Superintendent John Adikwu and three other police personnel, including a female police officer, Emmanuella Ankyov. Also, on the list of those who were felled by the bullets of the robbers men were the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Township Ward 1 chairman, Mr. George Uloko and a staff of UBA, Emmanuel Uche who recently joined the bank after having completed his Youth Service.
The invasion by the bank robbers came at a time Benue State is beset with myriad of insecurity, with bandits and killer herdsmen, maiming and dislodging many from their ancestral lands. Every other day, there are reports of killings in the state, especially in Makurdi, Guma, Gwer West, Katsina-Ala, Ukum and Logo local government areas. So, the Otukpo incident, was one killing too many.
Police report
The Benue State Police Command, in a statement issued by its Public Relations Officer, Catherine Anene, disclosed that security personnel gave the armed robbers a hot chase and successfully intercepted them along the Otukpo-Taraku road, where they abandoned their vehicles and escaped into the forest after two of them were gunned down in the gun battle that ensued. The statement read: “On October 20, 2023, at about 4:15 pm, armed robbers invaded some banks in Otukpo, simultaneously.
The Otukpo Divisional Police Officer, CSP John Adikwu, and other police teams in the area engaged them in a gun duel but were unable to prevent their attack on the banks. “More police teams, in collaboration with other security agents, were deployed to Otukpo to assist in stabilising the area and prevent these robbers from escaping. The robbers who were intercepted along Otukpo-Taraku road engaged officers in a gun duel and two of the robbers died in the process.
Other gang members abandoned their vehicles and escaped into the forest area and are being chased by the police. “The DPO who sustained a gunshot injury on his stomach and three other police officers have been confirmed dead at the hospital. Other persons who sustained injuries in the bank have been moved to the hospital for treatment. Investigation is ongoing at the moment.”
Reps’s intervention
Following the incident, the House of Representatives on Tuesday condemned in strong terms the gruesome and brutal killing of the security personnel, bank officials and members of the Otukpo community. The House also resolved to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the robbery even as it urged the Police, Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators of the heinous act.
The resolution was consequent upon the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance sponsored by Hon. Blessing Onuh (APC, Benue). The motion was seconded by Hon. Francis Waive (APC, Delta). In adopting the motion, the House also advised the government to as a matter of urgency increase the security architecture within the town and its environs to prevent a recurrence. The House also observed a minute silent in honour of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), other security personnel and civilians, who lost their lives during the attack.
The motion
While presenting the motion, Hon. Blessing Onuh, who represents Otukpo/Ohimini federal constituency of Benue State, noted that the primary purpose of government is the security and welfare of its citizens. She informed her colleagues that on October 20, at about 3.pm, Otukpo, a relatively peaceful town in Benue State, was invaded by heavily armed gunmen numbering over 20. “These gunmen held the community under siege for over two hours.
They wreaked havoc using rocket launchers, dynamites, AK47 rifles and other sophisticated weapons. Onuh said she was “aware that these yet-to-be-identified gunmen started their killing sprew by attacking the vigilante group, which is the first line in homeland security. They thereafter proceeded to the Otukpo Police Station, killing the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and three other police officers.”
According to her, “while the attack on the police station was on-going, other members of the gang were busy attacking four commercial banks simultaneously, killing and carting away huge sums of money. Several persons were killed in the bank premises and many others sustained gunshot injuries.”
She expressed concern that residents of the town are currently feeling traumatised and are greatly feeling unsafe, adding that the security architecture of the Otukpo community, particularly the police and vigilantes are badly demoralised. “More worrisome is that commercial and business activities are currently halted in Otukpo and Benue South as a whole. Banks and other commercial institutions have completely shut down operations”, she submitted.
She called on the House to condemn the criminal act. She further called on the relevant security apparatus to apprehend the perpetrators of this dastardly act. Hon. Onuh also called on the Federal government to provide additional security apparatus to the community and that the House should ensure compliance to the prayers of the motion, so that such barbaric acts do not reoccur.
Support
Speaking in favour of the motion, Hon. Ahmed Jaha (APC, Borno) de- cried the waste of lives and property by the bandits. He termed the act as an act of terrorism. He called on the relevant security apparatus to ensure this does not happen in other areas of the country. Hon. Jaha further decried the increasing number of motions on in-security despite the various efforts of the House to checkmate this. He bemoaned the fact that insecurity has become a cash-cow for security related agencies and called for effective over-sighting of security agencies by the relevant committees of the House.
Also supporting the motion, the deputy minority leader, Hon. Abdul- lahi Halims (PDP, Kogi) said incidents of insecurity had spread from the North-East, North-West to the North Central parts of Nigeria. He called for the security agencies in these localities to be more empowered to tackle and reinforce against these bandits. He further bemoaned the effects these attacks have on commercial activities in these localities.
Similarly, the House deputy spokesman, Hon. Philip Agbese (APC, Benue) bemoaned the bloody event in Benue state. He called on the security apparatus of the nation to step up their reaction to acts of in- security as Nigerians seem to have lost confidence in their abilities to protect them. Agbese urged the House to send a strong message to the leadership of relevant security agencies to be up and doing or resign to make way for capable hands to man the affairs of such agencies.
The motion was voted on, adopted and referred to the House joint committee on national security, police and army. How soon the joint committee would swing into action to come out with its findings and recommendations is yet to be seen. But many commentators are of the view that most of these probes by the parliament often lead to nowhere hence a strong collaboration between the executive and the legislature is needed to rejig the nation’s security architecture in order to stem worsening insecurity across the country.
