Rikupki Urenyang, the Minority Whip and representative of Ussa State Constituency in the House of Representatives, has stated that over 500 persons have been killed in several communities in his constituency by terrorists, locally dubbed as bandits from the Republic of Cameroon in few years.
Urenyang, who raised a red flag concerning the invasion, identifyed Fikyu, Kpambo, and Kpambo-Puri as the most severely affected communities.
While he expressed concern over the existence of bandit camps and attacks on vulnerable communities, he added that Ussa is becoming a graveyard for children, saying hundreds of boys and girls are reportedly being killed weekly.
“Over 500 persons have been killed in Ussa by bandits and terrorists in the last few years. The murderers come in from Cameroon via the border communities and have continued to launch attacks on our vulnerable communities,” he said.
Urenyang asked the Federal Government to urgently deploy the military to strategic locations in Ussa, particularly the Kpambo-Yashi area of Kumbo ward, where recent attacks claimed five lives.
He urged stakeholders to set aside politics and collaborate with federal authorities to decisively address the escalating security crisis.
He emphasised the impact on food production as Ussa is known for its contributions to grain and fruit production, and commended the state governor for his concern and stressed the need for additional efforts to address the rising crisis.
The police spokesperson for the state Command, Abdullahi Usman, in his response acknowledged the cross-border crimes and assured that the command was working to deploy more officers to vulnerable communities.
The PPRO explained the ongoing efforts to collaborate with Cameroonian border patrol police to curb the sporadic attacks.
“The Commissioner of Police is also looking at the command deploying more mobile policemen from MOPOL 67 to those border areas because of the vulnerability of communities in that axis,” he added.