ACF calls for restraint over killing of army officers

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has called for restraint following the killing of army personnel in Benue State to ensure that more innocent blood is not spilled.

The ACF in a statement issued on Sunday by its National Chairman, Audu Ogbeh, said while it “condemns the killing of men of the Nigerian army by bandits in the state, “the army should not use a sledgehammer to kill a fly.”

The statement described the killing of men of the Nigerian army as “lawlessness and barbarism”, adding that there was no need for the bandits to kill members of the Nigerian Army who were merely on a mission to keep the peace.

Ogbeh said the ACF was attending the meetings of the

National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Council (NEC) when news started trickling of another round of bloodshed in Benue but said it had hesitated to issue a statement, hoping to get full details.

“We call on the security agents and community leaders and the state government to fish out the criminals and punish them. Punishing poor, innocent people who have nothing to do with the killings of soldiers in Konshisha is unfair and not the best way to go,” he said.

The ACF in another statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Emmanuel Yawe, commended the Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, for exposing security men who are assisting bandits in the state by supplying them with arms and ammunition.