Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State has appealed to kidnappers of the Caretaker Chairman, Ukum Local Government Area of the state, Rev. Gideon Haanongon, and three others to release them unconditionally.
The LGA Chairman, his orderly, driver and personal assistant were kidnapped in the early hours of Saturday.
The Governor made the appeal on Saturday during a funeral oration for the Ter (paramount ruler) Katsina-Ala, Chief Fezanga Wombo, whose funeral Haanongon was going to attend when he was kidnapped alongside his aides.
Alia called for the immediate release of the the kidnapped chairman and those with him.
The governor said that his administration was ready to engage the youths to be useful in the society, if they refrained from criminal activities.
He decried the spate of killings and kidnappings in the area by bandits, and warned that his administration would not condone such nefarious acts.
Alia called on both serving and former lawmakers as well as other prominent sons of Sankara to convene an emergency meeting to proffer lasting solutions to the insecurity in the area.
He assured that their recommendations, when forwarded to him, would be implemented immediately.
The governor also urged traditional leaders in the area to put heads together to proffer lasting solutions to the challenges bedeviling the area, saying his administration was determined to ensure that peace returned not only to Logo, Ukum and Katsina-Ala LGAs, but to the entire state.
Alia commiserated with the family of Chief Wombo over the demise of their father, and urged them to be consoled in the fact that he lived a fulfilled life.
Earlier, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, called for collective responsibility to move the state forward.
Represented by Senator Jack Gyado, Akume called on all Sankara sons to ensure that peace returned to the area.
The SGF pledged the Federal Government’s commitment to ensuring that there was peace in Benue State for efficient development.
A former Governor of Benue State, Senator Gabriel Suswam, also tasked the people of Sankara on peace and unity.
Suswam said it was time for Sankara to be sanitised from all forms of criminality for people to exercise their fundamental human rights of free movement from one place to another.
The senator also said the area, known as the food hub of the state, needed peace to ensure its return to agricultural activities in order to grow the state’s economy and enhance Nigeria’s GDP.
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Also, Most Rev. Isaac Dugu, Bishop of Katsina-Ala Diocese, in his sermon called on Benue people to intensify prayers for the state, the governor and Sankara.
In his remarks, a son of the deceased, Prince Solomon Wombo, member representing Katsina-Ala, Ukum and Logo Federal Constituency, appealed for peace in the constituency.
NAN reports that Sankara, which comprises Ukum, Logo and Katsina-Ala LGAs, is the constituency of late Terwase Akwaza, aka Gana, the kidnapping kingpin.
The area is yet to have peace even after his death.
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