Federal Government sets up probe panel for Benue bloody invasion and carnage

Senate President, David Mark, said on Thursday that President Goodluck Jonathan has instituted an urgent probe into the bloody invasion of a Benue community by some armed Fulani herdsmen recently.

At least 80 persons were murdered when the invaders besieged the Egba community in the Agatu local government area of the state in the early hours of last Sunday.
The herdsmen were said to have escaped to neighbouring Nasarawa state across the River Benue after the attack.
Mark, who visited the devastated community on Thursday, lamented the monumental carnage and hinted the survivors that the federal government would soon announce the composition of a committee that would investigate the sad development.
Mark, who lamented the level of devastation and killings at the war ravaged Egba community, expressed shock and sadness over the rate of damage, which he described as a genocide.
He said the action of the perpetrators was nothing but absolute criminality which must be addressed as such.
He said, “This is absolute criminality. All those involved in this barbaric killings must not go unpunished. Government will not tolerate this and all the security networks would be deployed to fish out the perpetrators.”
Mark disclosed that the National Security council had met over the incident and that the president is already putting measures in place to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the killings,with a view to finding a lasting solution to it.
He therefore counseled the people to continue to maintain peace, as government has enough apparatus to deal with the situation in a way that would bring justice to all concerned.
Mark added that security has been beefed up to forestall a repeat of the ugly incident.