The President of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Dr Bitrus Pogu, has poignantly asserted that the killing of 574 persons in the North Central Zone by criminal elements in the last six months has shown the failure of governance, noting that the people must learn to defend themselves.
Pogu regretted that such killings had been happening over the years.
“We have lamented over and over again. We have told government over and over again what to do, how to do things, but it continues unabated.
“Lately, we got some wind of relief when the DSS DG, said that the first line of defence should be community-based.
“Just as we have jointly stated with our southern friends, Afenifere, Ohanaeze and PANDEF, the lamentation period is over. I think these people need to be taught the lesson they deserve. The military is overstretched, and deliberately, they have been deprived of some basic modern technology; they are even ambushed. These people use anti aircraft guns, which have farther reach than their military standard AK-47; and we see them even raiding and displacing military formations. So, the technique the military has been using since the time of former President Jonathan is staying in one place and waiting for these people to come and attack, but we told them that they have to go and fish these criminals out for us to have the ungoverned spaces free of them.
“Lately, when this government came in, we thought that was going to be the case because we saw some action in the Northwest in particular, but in the Middle Belt, it has not changed.
“We need to believe in ourselves as the government has failed and when there is a failure in governance, the people have to take action.
“Yes, we don’t have sophisticated weapons, but just wait and see, we will defend ourselves,” Pogu said.
