By Peter Duru- Makurdi

The immediately past Chief of Staff to Governor Samuel Ortom and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship aspirant, Mr. Terwase Orbunde has advocated the introduction of Community Volunteer Guards in the rural communities as it exists in Benue state as a means of checking worsening insecurity in the country.

He said the guards when introduced would support the conventional security personnel and also serve as the first line of defense for the people when there is security breach in the communities before the arrival of the conventional security personnel.

The governorship aspirant who gave the suggestion on Wednesday during an interaction with newsmen in Makurdi said the introduction of the Guards would add impetus to the fight against insecurity in the state and country.

He said “every community should have a Community Volunteer Guards made up of the people in the community, that is why it is volunteer and they would be encouraged to have local defense systems and that way the conventional security will be assisted.

“We know that the conventional security cannot be everywhere at the same time even if they want to. So you will want that you have the local communities to have the first line of defense before reinforcement comes.”

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Mr. Orbunde assured that when elected governor of the state he would also embark on what he called “resettlement patterns” as another means of checking insecurity in the state.

He said “starting from the northern boundary of the state we will do resettlement partners and cluster settlements because as it is today, you will find out that the attacks that come are not organized in the way that you know. They go to a small village get the husband, wife and children and kill them.

“So we will encourage new resettlement patterns because we need to open up our land in a way that we free the land for the communities in such a way that it would enhance their productivity in the farms.

“We know that security does not stand alone, so if the communities are resettled, you have open spaces, trees are removed, land is prepared then you are going to be protected better.

“I hold the view that it is not grazing that is the issue, it is the issue of taking over of our land. And it did not start in Benue, people’s land have been taken and I know it is not a thing that will go away suddenly. So I am preparing for a long haul. We will do the resettlements patterns and micro defence system will be created with Volunteer Guards as we already have in the state.”

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