PARAMOUNT ruler of Irigwe ethnic nationality in Plateau State, High Royal Highness, Right Reverend Ronku Aka, has said the recent attack on his kingdom got out of hand because security operatives claimed they had no instruction to repel it.
Seven persons were killed recently killed in Miango, Irigwe chiefdom of Bassa Local Government Area of the state by suspected herders.
The royal father, who said the invasion by gunmen suspected to be herdsmen, was meant to cripple the economy of the people of the area.
He added that some security operatives who were deployed to the communities during the attacks told him they had no instruction to repel the invaders Aka spoke when the president of the Gideon and Funmi Para-Mallam Peace Foundation, Reverend Gideon Para-Mallam led other officials of the non-governmental organisation on a sympathy visit to his palace in Miango after donating relief materials to internally displaced persons in the area.
He said the destruction that took place in his kingdom had further exposed the helplessness of the governors and the council chairmen as chief security officers in their respective areas.
“I don’t blame the local government chairman in Bassa or the governor of the state over the calamity that has befallen my people. At peace meetings, the governor will give orders but the security men will go and do a different thing.
“When I enquired what was happening, some soldiers cried to me that they did not receive the orders to repel the attackers.
“Some of them, who expressed frustration over the situation, wondered the essence of holding guns which they cannot use and left the scene,” he said.
Source — Tribune