Benue killings: Akinkunmi calls on FG to establish community defence force

Philanthropist and President of Tito Group of Companies, Isaac Akinkunmi, has urged the Federal Government to create a Community Defence Force as a strategic response to the escalating insecurity across Nigeria.
Akinkunmi proposed that members of the force be authorized to carry graded weapons, operating under the strict supervision of the Inspector General of Police.
He made the appeal on Thursday in reaction to the recent attack on Yelwata community in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, where an estimated 200 people were reportedly killed by suspected armed herders.
Akinkunmi, an entrepreneur and former leader of the Yoruba community in Benue State, condemned the worsening security situation particularly in Benue State and called on the government to empower local communities to defend themselves against such threats.
“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.
“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 efforts, the Benue-based businessman also visited the emergency camp for displaced residents of Yelwata at the International Market in Makurdi, where he donated various food items, including a cow, bags of rice, garri, seasonings, sugar, groundnut oil, and yoghurt.