Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has pledged to legally obtain AK-47, AK-49 and other sophisticated weapons for the state-owned security outfit.
The governor made the remarks on Thursday while unveiling the Community Volunteer Guards security force in Makurdi, the state capital.
According to the governor, the first batch of guards included 500 people drawn from the 23 Local Government Areas of the state.
He accused the Federal Government of consistently failing to address the state security crisis, emphasizing that arming the guards was necessary to protect Benue people from Fulani terrorists.
He said, “Given the fact that the Federal Government has consistently failed to disarm the Fulani terrorists who have continued to maim and kill our people at will, the State Government is going to apply for a License to legally procure AK47, AK49 and other sophisticated weapons for the Benue State Volunteers Guards to enable them tackle these murderous terrorists effectively.
“To do this effectively, the Benue State Government had approved a two-week capacity building programme for Five Hundred (500) personnel of the Community Volunteer Guards to learn some basic paramilitary aspects.”