The House of Representatives has decided to look into the recent armed robbery in Otukpo, Benue, which resulted in the deaths of several police officers.
This came after Blessing Onuh (PDP, Benye) proposed a resolution of urgent public interest in the plenary on Tuesday.
Onuh, who introduced the motion, stated that the primary goal of government was to ensure residents’ safety and well-being.
On October 20, Otukpo, a relatively calm community in Benue State, was besieged by around 20 suspected armed groups.
She claimed the gang besieged the town for nearly two hours, creating havoc with rocket launchers, dynamites, AK-47 rifles, and other sophisticated weapons.
She stated that the invaders began by attacking the vigilance group, which was the first line of defense for the nation.
She claimed they went to the Otukpo police station and murdered the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and three other female policemen.
“While the attack on the police station was ongoing, other members of the gang were busy attacking four commercial banks simultaneously, killing and carting away huge sums of money.
“The banks attacked include IBTC, Zenith, UBA, and First Bank. Several people were killed on the bank premises and many others sustained gunshot injuries,” she said, stressing that the residents were traumatised by the attack, as they felt unsafe even after the attack.
The House unanimously condemned the robbery and the killing that took place during the incident and urged the police, Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies to make efforts to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators of the robbery.
The House also urged the government to, as a matter of urgency, deploy additional security agents to secure the town and its environs to prevent the recurrence.