INSECURITY: Allow Nigerians to carry AK-47 and protect themselves, Ortom tells FG

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to allow responsible citizens to protect themselves with AK-47 rifles and other weapons in a bid to curb the worsening security situation in the country.

The governor made the call in a statement titled: “National Security: Gov Ortom Proposes The Way Forward,” and issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase.

The statement read: “Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has urged the Federal Government to grant licences to responsible citizens to carry sophisticated weapons such as AK-47 to deter criminals from attacking innocent and helpless Nigerians.

“He says the policy should be backed by a strict legal framework to prevent illegal possession of arms by the citizenry without exception.

“These were some of the submissions contained in the paper Governor Ortom presented yesterday during the virtual meeting convened by Centre for Values in Leadership, CVL, in collaboration with Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF).

“In the paper titled: ‘Insecurity and Governance Challenges in the New Normal’, the Governor said governments at all levels must come to terms with the fact that insecurity is a real threat to development of the country and be willing to sincerely tackle the menace.

“He also recommended adequate funding of security agencies and continuous training of their personnel to enable them be abreast of global dynamics in the fight against insecurity.

“The governor urged the Federal Government to embrace ranching as it is the global best practice of animal husbandry and enact a law to end open grazing which often comes with attacks on farming communities by armed herdsmen militia.

“Governor Ortom also advocated improved educational standards and enhanced public enlightenment campaigns to give the people, particularly youths the needed orientation to shun negative acts and become more patriotic.”

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