The  Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has declared that the state will lawfully buy AK-47 and AK-49 firearms for its Community Volunteer Guards security force.

Ortom made this announcement on Thursday in Makurdi, the state capital, at the unveiling of the security outfit.

As national security deteriorated, states including Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, and Zamfara also signaled that they would arm their security agencies.

In order to ensure that schools are safe and reopened, officials of security services, the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, the diplomatic community, and a few government ministries met in Abuja on Thursday.

At the unveiling of the Benue State Security outfit, Ortom revealed that the state was being attacked as a result of the peoples’ refusal to surrender their land.

According to Ortom, the first batch of 500 recruits came from the state’s 23 local government areas, and they took part in the passing out procession at IBB Square in Makurdi.

The governor said that the Federal Government’s inability to disarm the militias led to his administration’s decision to establish the security organization.

He promised that his administration will obtain advanced firearms like the AK-47 and AK-49 legitimately for the security personnel.

Ortom said, “Given the fact that the Federal Government has consistently failed to disarm the terrorists who have continued to maim and kill our people at will, the state government is going to apply for a licence to legally procure AK-47, AK-49 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 500 personnel of the Community Volunteer Guards to learn some basic paramilitary aspects.”

He pledged that Benue State Community Volunteer Guard operations will rigorously follow the law and issued a warning that any official found breaking the law would be expelled.

For the Volunteer Guards to operate as effectively as possible, 30 functional vehicles and 200 communication tools were purchased.

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In the same development, the Ondo State Government stated that it was attempting to obtain a license for the Amotekun Corps members so they could fight the robbers.

In an interview, Akogun Adeleye, the commander of the Amotekun Corps and special adviser to governor Rotimi Akeredolu on security, stated that one of the issues facing the corps was its inability to transport advanced weapons.

But he claimed that the state administration was addressing the issue.

“We were made to understand that such weapons belong to the exclusive list that will only be granted by the Federal Government and that is why we are asking for the creation of state police which will put to rest all these intimidations by these invaders,” Adeleye stated.

Similarly, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Security Matters, Jimoh Dojumo, said the government was working towards acquiring the licence.

“We are working towards that and it will pass through the state House of Assembly,” he stated.

Also in Osun State, Governor Gboyega Oyetola was certain that Amotekun should be armed, according to Abiodun Ige, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security.

However, she pointed out that the operatives may only work together with other arm-bearing security organizations in accordance with the current operational law governing Amotekun’s operations.

Ige said, “It is the governor that will be able to answer that question but I know that Governor Oyetola is of the strong opinion that if they can allow them (Amotekun) to carry arms, it will be fine.

“But under the current operational law, they are to work in collaboration with other security agencies. And that gives them the fire-power that they need to operate effectively.”

According to Jamilu Iliyasu, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State, the governor would adhere to the law when buying firearms for self-defense in the state.

Iliyasu claimed that the state assembly was now considering amendments to the measure allowing the acquisition of firearms for self-defense. The governor, he continued, would abide by any gun-related legal requirements.

He asserted that Matawalle would never do something that would violate a constitutional provision.