The Kogi State government has promised to compensate victims of the violence that greeted the November 16 governorship election and Kogi West senatorial rerun.
The position of the state government was made known by the Director General, Media, Publicity and Strategy to the state governor, Kingsley Fanwo, while speaking with journalists after the state exco meeting in Lokoja.
Fanwo said that the state executive committee condemned in strong terms, the violence during and after the November 16 governorship election in the state, describing it as “sad and unfortunate.”
He said, “The State Executive Council has condemned in strong terms, the pockets of violence which greeted the last governorship election in the state”, adding that “loss of lives in the struggle for power is mindless and unacceptable.”
“The council also commended security agencies for their efforts at bringing purveyors and promoters of such violence to book with a view to sending a strong signal to hoodlums that the Kogi State Government will not accept any threat to the lives of the people of the state.
“Of particular reference was the woman who was burnt in Ochadamu and the man who was stabbed to death. We also got reports of direct attacks on some politically-exposed persons with the intent of terminating their lives.
“As a government, we will give security agencies every support to track down and prosecute those who hid under politics to perpetrate crime.
“But beyond that, we will compensate families that lost loved ones and properties. We know nothing could pay for the life of a human; but as a government, our hearts are with those bereaved families.”