NEWS
Herdsmen’s attack: Osinbajo promises to send relief materials to Ebonyi victims
VICE President Yemi Osinbajo has promised to support the families of victims that lost their lives and properties worth millions of naira destroyed during the recent herdsmen attacks in Egedege community in Ebonyi State.
He also urged the warring communities in Ebonyi State to sheath their swords and embrace peace.
Osinbajo made this known when he visited the warring communities in Ebonyi State on Sunday, where he promised them of relief from the federal government.
“Let me assure that we will seek justice on behalf of those who are dead, not just because they are victims but because they are human beings and they deserve justice.”
He said the President Buhari-led government was concerned about the killings and destruction of people’s sources of livelihood in the crisis, and conveyed Mr President’s condolences to the victims.
“Hundreds of people lost their lives, business and means of livelihood destroyed. Mr. President was particularly concerned about this. For the families of those who have lost their lives, you should please accept the condolences of the father.
“People are killed when incidents like this happen and we feel particularly outraged, particularly angry about what has happened; the reason being that the people who have been mercilessly massacred are people like you and
me, a human being like you and I.
“These are young ones, women and children who have woken up in the morning and expected to go about their daily businesses; expected to go out to fend for themselves and ended up dead not because they’ve done anything wrong but because of the cowardly wicked act of some other people who lived in the community they are”.
Osinbajo, in assuring the elders and people of the communities on government’s plans to ensure that the dastardly acts do not repeat itself, said it was very important to beef up security in the state, especially the affected communities.
He also charged the local communities’ people to be ready to support the security operative with information on the activities of suspected people around them.
Governor of Ebonyi State, David Nweze Umahi, in his remarks, he urged the federal government to take drastic measures to checkmate the excesses of the herders.
Governor Umahi also announced the activation of local vigilantes to provide internal security in all parts of the state, and warned that government might not be able to hold back the youth if such killings by the herders occurred again within the shores of the South East region.
He appealed to the federal government to make funds available for the resettlement of those whose households and means of livelihood were affected by the attack.