Benue: Insecurity threatening development gains in Ogbadibo – Onoja

Security expert and researcher, Comrade Jonathan Onoja, has warned that persistent insecurity could undermine the development gains recorded in Ogbadibo Local Government Area of Benue State over the past 35 years.

Onoja, who raised the alarm while delivering a paper titled “Ogbadibo at 35: Security, Governance, and the Road to Sustainable Development” at the 35th anniversary celebration of the local government area, also called for the establishment of a Mobile Police Base in Otukpa to strengthen security in the area.

Ogbadibo was created from the old Okpokwu Local Government Area on August 27, 1991.

According to Onoja, the local government has recorded progress in education, agriculture, commerce and human capital development, with Otukpa, Owukpa and Orokam emerging as centres of economic and social activities.

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He, however, warned that the gains could be eroded if the security challenges confronting the area were not urgently addressed.

“No meaningful development can be sustained in an atmosphere of insecurity,” he said.

Onoja identified farmer-herder conflicts, kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism and communal disputes as some of the security challenges that have confronted Ogbadibo between 2021 and 2026.

He noted that kidnapping and armed robbery had been recorded along the Otukpa-Otukpo, Orokam-Ubolo, Owukpa-Ugbokolo and Otukpa-Enugu roads, creating fear among residents, increasing transportation costs and affecting commercial activities.

The security expert further claimed that insecurity had contributed to a decline in agricultural activities in some parts of the local government, with farmers abandoning their farms over safety concerns.

He said the situation had also affected education, commerce and investment, as some parents in remote communities were afraid to send their children to school, while traders increasingly avoided travelling at night.

Onoja observed that although security agencies, the state government, the local government, traditional institutions and vigilante groups were making efforts to tackle insecurity, gaps remained in intelligence sharing, funding and operational coordination.

As part of measures to address the situation, he proposed a five-point security action plan for Ogbadibo covering the period from 2026 to 2061.

He called on the Federal Government to establish a Mobile Police Base in Otukpa and deploy security technology, including Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) and emergency communication lines.

Onoja also proposed joint border patrols involving Benue, Enugu, Kogi and Ebonyi states due to Ogbadibo’s strategic location and boundaries with neighbouring states.

For the local government, the security expert recommended the establishment of an Ogbadibo Security Situation Room, quarterly security town hall meetings and a youth employment programme targeting 2,000 beneficiaries annually.

He further called for improved support for vigilante groups under the community policing framework and the speedy prosecution of persons arrested for security-related offences.

According to him, Ogbadibo’s strategic location along the Enugu-Makurdi federal highway makes security in the area important not only to residents but also to travellers and commercial activities between Benue, the South-East and the Federal Capital Territory.

“As Ogbadibo LGA celebrates 35 years of existence, it must look to the future with both pride and purpose. The achievements of the past must be secured by the actions of today.

“Peace is not the sole responsibility of government or security agencies. It is the business of every citizen,” Onoja said.

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