A philanthropist and President of Tito Group of Companies, Asiwaju Isaac Akinkunmi, has called on the Federal Government to establish a Community Defence Force to tackle the growing insecurity in the country.
According to him, personnel of the proposed force should be permitted to bear graded weapons under the supervision of the Inspector General of Police.
Akinkunmi appealed on Thursday while reacting to the recent attack on Yelwata community in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, where about 200 people were reportedly killed by suspected armed herders.
The entrepreneur and immediate past leader of the Yoruba community in Benue State decried the rising wave of insecurity across the country — particularly in Benue — and urged the Federal Government to empower communities to defend themselves.
“The kind of attack witnessed in Yelwata can best be handled by such communities themselves as the first line of defence, through the establishment of a Community Defence Force empowered with graded weapons under the control of the Inspector General of Police.
“Custodians of such weapons should be community leaders, who would ensure they are not abused. State police may help, but they cannot prevent sudden attacks”, he said.
He noted that rural communities in Nigeria, especially before the year 2000, were largely peaceful, with the government having a monopoly over arms and ammunition.
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“Crimes were, until recently, mostly confined to urban areas, but today illegal weapons are everywhere in the wrong hands. That is why we are advocating for a Community Defence Force, so that responsible young men and women can be permitted to bear military-grade weapons to defend their homeland,” he added.
As part of his corporate social responsibility, the Benue-based businessman also visited the emergency camp for Yelwata’s displaced residents at the International Market in Makurdi, where he donated food items including a cow, rice, garri, seasonings, sugar, groundnut oil, and yoghurts.
Punch
