By SOLOMON NDA-ISAIAH
The APC 2023 Senatorial Candidate for Benue South, Comrade Daniel Onjeh, has expressed utter shock and grief over the dastardly chain of armed robbery attacks unleashed on Otukpo, the ancestral and political capital of the Idoma nation by some barefaced agents of the devil on Friday, 20th October, 2023, which left scores of innocent citizens dead.
In a statement issued yesterday, Com. Onjeh says on behalf of his family, friends and associates, he expresses deep condolences with the entire Idoma nation; the families, friends and colleagues of the hapless victims of the incident, as well as the Nigeria Police, which lost some gallant officers including the Divisional Police Officer, in the gale of daredevil armed invasion and robbery of several banks and the Otukpo Police Divisional Headquarters.
The statement added that Onjeh strongly condemns the sad incident, which has inflicted intense pain and sorrow on the Idoma Kingdom, and prays fervently against a recurrence of such a dark day in the annals of the Idoma nation.
“While it serves very little consolation the reported killing of two and arrest of four alleged members of the robbery gang by security forces, I call on the security apparatus to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that all the fleeing perpetrators of the heinous crime are promptly apprehended and brought to face the full wrath of the law,” stated Onjeh.
The former Chairman of the Projects Development Institute (PRODA), Enugu, equally called for a thorough investigation into the gory incident, noting that it appeared to be the handiwork of a soulless, blood-thirsty organized crime syndicate whose entire roots must be traced, uprooted and completely annihilated from Benue State to ensure that the good citizens of the state do not fall victims to its sanguinary craving in the future.
Onjeh further appealed on the security architecture in the state to adopt a more proactive approach towards detecting and preventing such scale of organized crime in the city, and to equally expedite its response time to distress calls, adding that a timely response could have mitigated the adverse effects of the robbery attack that reportedly lasted for well over an hour.
“ This unfortunate incident is indeed a wake up call for the Idoma people; I therefore, wish to further call for the unity of the idoma people. There’s no doubt that if we stand united, we can stamp out these criminal elements which are coming in different guises to inflict untold pain on our people,” stated Onjeh.
