On October 20, 2023, heavily armed men stormed Otukpo town, the headquarters of Benue South Senatorial District, robbed several banks and attacked the area police command, leaving about eight persons dead including four police officers.
Worried by the development, the Senator representing Benue South Senatorial District, Comrade (Dr) Patrick Abba Moro, promptly presented a motion at the plenary of the Red Chamber to draw the attention of the Senate to the dastardly act by the criminal elements.
Reading the motion on the floor of the Senate, captioned “Otukpo robbery attack: Urgent need for investigation and intervention”, Moro, the voice of the Benue South people, said: “Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, I rise to inform you that on the 20th of October 2023, at about 4.15pm, it was Armageddon let loose as men of the underworld invaded Otukpo, the ancestral hometown of the Idoma people unleashing mayhem in the process.
“Consequently, the Senate notes with sadness the dastardly attacks on banks and the police command in Otukpo on the 20th of October 2023 by men suspected to be armed robbers killing about eight persons including four security personnel.
“The Senate notes further that the suspected armed robbers operated for over one hour with little or no resistance holding the entire town hostage.
“The Senate notes once again that in addition to the letting of blood, millions of naira were carted away from the banks and arms, ammunitions from the police command.
“The Senate notes finally that apprehension, tension, panic and palpable fear enveloped Otukpo town right now.
“Accordingly the Senate resolves to urge the Nigerian Police and other relevant security agencies to immediately investigate the circumstances surrounding the invasion and the death of innocent persons.
“The Senate further urges the Nigerian Police Force and other relevant security agencies to unravel the mystery of lack of intelligence and alertness on the day of invasion.
“The Senate urges the National Emergency Management Agency to as a matter of urgency move in to provide relief materials for the rehabilitation of the Otukpo police command.
“And finally Mr President with your kind indulgence the Senate notes a minute silence in honour of those who lost their lives in the recent attack in Otukpo. I so move, Mr President.”
His colleagues who made their contributions to the motion decried the attack as they stressed the need for the various security agencies in the country to ensure improvement on their intelligence system.
For instance, Senator Adamu Aliero, while contributing to debate on Moro’s motion, appealed to the federal government to recruit more hands into the Nigerian Police Force as a way of bridging the insecurity gaps in the country. Aliero argued that “The police are seriously handicapped. They don’t have enough ammunition. It is now time for us to take a firm step that the federal government should employ more personnel to meet the gap. More personnel should be recruited. The motion is timely and apt.”
In a direct chat with journalists after moving the motion at the plenary calling for a probe of the dreadful incident, Moro further expressed his shock on how the armed men numbering about 60 invaded Otukpo town and carried out their nefarious operation unhindered even with the several security checks in the area.
He told the newsmen that “We have several security checkpoints, there is the police, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps have joined the road block thing.
“We also have the road safety, the Department of State Services, all of them, none of them got a hint that 60 armed men in two Hilux vehicles were coming to invade Otukpo. Where is the intelligence? When the attack happened, none of the agencies could reach out to mobilize for a countermeasure.
“You can see the villagers running after the robbers. Where were the police? I think there is a need for us to identify the security architecture with proper equipment. Otherwise, we are in trouble here.
“What we need to do is address the security architecture of Nigeria. The ninth Senate made recommendations to review the security architecture of this country, but they weren’t implemented. It has become a vicious cycle; we make recommendations, but the problem keeps coming.”
Before his motion on the floor of the Senate, Moro who recently bagged a PhD in Leadership and Strategic Studies, had visited some victims of the brutally deadly attack. He was at the Otukpo area command to commiserate with the Nigerian Police Force and families of the officers injured and killed in the course of the onslaught, pledging to provide furniture for the station and repair the section of the building damaged by the armed robbers.
The second term senator, known for his proactive and responsive leadership and believed to have greatly affected the lives of Benue South people by virtue of his quality representation, also paid a condolence visit to the family of late Hon. George Uloko in Otukpo, the PDP Township Ward 1 Chairman, who was one of the victims of the Otukpo robbery attack.