The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom,
on Monday insisted that the state did not have land for the
establishment of cattle colonies as being proposed by the Federal
Government.
President Muhamamdu Buhari had on Monday
at a meeting in Abuja appealed to the government and people of Benue
State to “in the name of God” accommodate their countrymen.
But Ortom said the size of the land
required for the proposed cattle colonies was not available in Benue,
adding that the Federal Government should arrest and prosecute leaders
of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore who he accused of making inciting
statements; and allegedly being the brains behind the January 1 killings
in parts of the state.
Ortom spoke with State House
correspondents after leading some leaders of the state to a closed-door
meeting with Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The governor said, “Like I told you the last time I came here, I did not understand what colonies meant.
“Today, I was privileged to meet the
Minister of Agriculture and he did explain to me that a colony is many
ranches put in one place, restricted in one place.
“So, for us in Benue State, there is no 10,000 hectares; we have no 10,000 hectares for that kind of a thing to take place.
“Other states have the land, but we in
Benue State; we don’t have and that was what led to us enacting this law
(anti-open grazing law).”
Ortom lamented that several people were killed in the recent attacks, while more than 60,000 people were displaced.
He said leaders of the state thought it
was wise for them to meet Buhari on the matter, adding that the meeting
was at their instance.
He noted that while the current situation in the state was relatively calm, there were still pockets of issues.
“For the past five days, we have witnessed two killings compared to what happened before.
“Other places are relatively calm; the
security men and the Inspector-General of Police and the Benue State
Government have been working day and night to ensure that we bring the
situation under control and stop the killings.
There are still security issues from one
town to another like a few days ago that we had uproar in the Makurdi
Local Government Area, where some hoodlums wanted to take advantage of
the situation to create confusion so they can loot,” he said.
Ortom said the delegation renewed their
call on the President to ensure the arrest and prosecution of the
leaders of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore.
“We made a strong appeal to Mr.
President to arrest those people that perpetrated this act, the Miyetti
Allah Kautal Hore, because they are not above the law.
“They made inciting statements against
our people and they perpetrated this act. They are still issuing threats
and it is not just anti-grazing law; the manner with which they came
and invaded the towns and took over the land was something else,” he
added.
While expressing confidence in the
leadership of Buhari, the governor said the President had assured them
that there would be no room for impunity.
He added, “We believe in the leadership
of Mr. President because he is a disciplined and an upright man and we
believe he will sanction these people.
“He assured us that there is no room for impunity, the law of the land must take its course.
“He directed the IG, who was at the meeting, to arrest those who perpetrated this act and prosecute them according to the law.
“He assured us that he would do everything possible to ensure that Benue State is peaceful and there is no further killing.”
When asked to shed more light on the
letter he said he wrote to the President on the imminent attacks without
getting any response, Ortom said, “Like I said, the President renewed
his directive to the IG in our presence that those who are perpetrating
this should be arrested and prosecuted.
“I was told that it (letter) was being
processed and I hope by now it has been processed and that action will
be taken now that the entire delegation from Benue State is here and Mr.
President has directed the IG that something should be done about this
matter because we cannot allow lawlessness and impunity.
“When people violate the law and they are not sanctioned, it becomes a problem.
“I believe that these people will be arrested because there is enough evidence against them.”
Ortom denied reports that he was arming militias, describing the allegation as mere distraction.
“It is not true. I see that as
distraction completely from the main issue that we are talking about.
These people were not even arrested in Benue State.
“If we are being killed in the magnitude
that we saw and we have weapons of what I saw in the media, I know that
five AK-47s can sack a whole community.
“So if we have such weapons and I as
governor, my local government had been attacked and people killed,
property destroyed and so on; so will I go and sponsor a militia in
Taraba State?
“Then you should go back to history,
from 2015 when I took over I organised an amnesty programme which saw
the disarmament of over 800 youths and more than 700 weapons were
turned in which were destroyed in the presence of security men and the
UN and the committee on small weapons and light arms from the
Presidency.
“So it is not true, it is false. It is meant to turn facts away from the reality that is happening on the ground,” he said.
The governor explained that the state’s anti-open grazing law originated from the people.
“The law is a win-win; it provides
security for the herdsmen and the farmers. And as far as we are
concerned, the implementation of the law is going on smoothly, he
added.”
“As I talk to you, several people have
been arrested and arraigned before the court both from the herdsmen side
and also from the natives.
“It may interest you to know that three
of our youths, who went and rustled cattle and killed a Fulani man, were
arrested by the police. They have been arraigned and are remanded in
custody in Makurdi.
“We have also arrested more than 18 herdsmen who violated the law and they were arraigned before a court.
“These killers that came from January 1;
about eight of them have been arrested and are going to be prosecuted.
And Mr. President has said that he is not going to protect any criminal
and we are happy about this.”
Ortom said the people of the state met
Buhari because they needed an assurance from the President since they
were part of his constituency.
He faulted insinuations that the implementation of the law caused the killings.
“For us, we have seen that even before
the law, killings were taking place even more than what we are
witnessing today.
What we are looking for are ways of getting out
of it and we have found a way and that is the law which seeks to protect
all.
“We are not sending anyone away from
Benue State. The herdsmen; whether you are Igbo, Fulani, Hausa, Idoma,
Tiv, anywhere you come from, you are free to obtain permit and then do
the ranch and you are protected.
“Benue State will protect you from
cattle rustlers when you do this and a farmer will also go to the farm
without being intimidated or harassed by any herdsman.
“So, for us; we have communicated and
the President has given us an assurance that he will protect lives and
property and Benue State cannot be an exception,” Ortom added.
The meeting which was meant to find ways
of restoring peace to the state was attended by Benue State Deputy
Governor, Benson Abounu, a former President of the Senate, David Mark; a
former governor George Akume; Tor Tiv, Prof. James Ayatse, Senator
Barnabas Gemade, a former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice,
Michael Aondoakaa; Senator Joseph Wayas; Gen. Lawrence Onoja (retd),
Brig. Gen. John Atom Kpera (retd), Sen. J.K. Waku and Speaker of the
state House of Assembly, Terkimbir Kyamb.
Also in attendance were the Minister of
Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali; Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh; Minister
of Interior and Abdulrahman Dambazzau.
‘Accommodate your countrymen’
Earlier at the meeting at the
Presidential Villa, Abuja, Buhari appealed to the government and people
of Benue State to “in the name of God” accommodate their countrymen.
He assured them that all the perpetrators of violence in the state would be made to face the wrath of the law.
According to a statement by his Special
Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, Buhari was quoted as
promising that all those involved in the conflict that culminated in the
loss of lives would not escape justice.
The President commiserated with the victims of the attacks, and the families who lost loved ones and property.
He said relevant agencies had been directed to start catering for their needs.
The President said, “Your Excellency, the governor, and all the leaders here, I am appealing to you to restrain your people.
“I assure you that the police, the
Department of State Services and other security agencies had been
directed to ensure that all those behind the mayhem are punished.
“I ask you in the name of God to
accommodate your countrymen. You can also be assured that I am just as
worried, and concerned with the situation.”
The President told the delegation that
his administration had already begun a process of finding a lasting
solution to the perennial challenge of herdsmen conflict with farmers
and communities around the country.
He said the Inspector-General of Police,
Ibrahim Idris, had been directed to relocate to the state to provide
security for lives and property.
In his remarks, Ortom said the tension would be reduced with the Federal Government’s intervention.
“We will leave here to rebuild confidence in our people,’’ he said.
The Tor-Tiv, Prof. Ayatse, said his domain had been thrown into mourning due to the incessant attacks.
“We want you to put an end to the gruesome situation,’’ he added.
Benue killings: You lied, Osinbajo replies Ortom
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday
said he was shocked by media reports that quoted the Benue State
Governor, Ortom, as saying he (Osinbajo) was warned ahead of the January
1 killings in the Logo and Guma local government areas of the state.
In a statement by his Senior Special
Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, the Vice-President
described as “a terrible falsehood” the suggestion that he was informed
by the governor or anyone else of the killings.
The statement read, “Governor Ortom
wrote to the Vice-President, then Acting President, on June 7, 2017,
protesting against a newspaper publication where the leadership of
Miyetti Allah was reported to have stated that it was opposed to the
open grazing prohibition law of the state and that they would mobilise
to resist the law.
“The Miyetti Allah had written to the
Vice-President on the 5th of June 2017 on the same law protesting
against several sections of the law.
“The governor went on to say that the
leadership of Miyetti Allah should be arrested because they used words
such as ‘wicked, obnoxious and repressive,’ to describe the law, and
because these were ‘utterances that are capable of undermining the
peace…’
“The Vice-President subsequently met
with the governor, discussed the matter and the security situation in
the state and then ordered law enforcement agencies to be on the alert
to prevent any attack or violence. This was in June 2017.”
The statement noted that in the said
letter written by the governor, there was no mention of any threat to
any specific one of the 23 local government areas of Benue State.
It explained that the best the law
enforcement agencies could do was to await information or intelligence
of an imminent attack and none of such came.
It added that since then, the
Vice-President had held meetings with the Benue State governor,
including a visit to the state on September 6, 2017, at the instance of
Buhari during the tragic floods in the state.
At all the meetings, according to the
statement, the Vice-President discussed the security situation of the
state with the governor.
It noted that the then Acting President
also convened a major national security retreat which was attended by
all state governors, service chiefs and heads of security agencies.
It added that the retreat featured detailed discussions on the herdsmen/ farmers’ clashes.
“To the best of our knowledge, neither
Governor Ortom nor the Federal Government was aware of the imminence of
the cowardly attack on the Logo and Guma areas on the 1st of January,
and therefore any suggestion that the President or the Vice-President
ignored the state governor’s warning is both absolutely false and
certainly misleading,” the statement said.
MASSOB hails Abia, Anambra for rejecting cattle colonies
The Movement for the Actualisation of
the Sovereign State of Biafra has commended Anambra and Abia states for
rejecting the Federal Government’s proposal for the establishment of
cattle colonies.
Describing the proposal as anti-people,
MASSOB commended the governors of the two states, Willie Obiano
(Anambra) and Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), for their courage.
A statement by the MASSOB leader,
Uchenna Madu, said, “We salute the courageous spirit of the governors
for opposing the anti-peoples Federal Government policy, which only
favours the Fulani and their cows.”
The group insisted that allowing the
establishment of “colonial village for Fulani herdsmen and their cows
simply means allowing a known enemy to dine and sleep with a hated
opponent.”
The statement partly read, “It will not
be far-fetched to conclude that the Fulani herdsmen and their kinsmen
are pawns in an agenda to overrun all towns in Nigeria.
“So that soon, we will have emirs in
Owerri, Enugu, Benin, Agatu, Wukari, Abeokuta and other towns where the
Federal Government is planning to create grazing colonies for Fulani
herdsmen.”
Don’t drag Nigeria into civil war –CAN tells FG
The leadership of the Christian
Association of Nigeria, Taraba State, on Monday called on Buhari to end
herdsmen killings across the country to prevent the country from going
into a civil war.
At a press conference in Jalingo, CAN
Chairman in the state, Rev. Ben Ubeh, said the killings going on across
the country with impunity by Fulani herdsmen were capable of pushing the
country into an unprecedented civil war.
This is even as the body called on the
Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku, not to be bothered by the
blackmail from MACAN over the implementation of the open grazing
prohibition law.
“We call on President Buhari, the
northern Emirs and the patrons of Miyetti Allah to prevent the country
from going into another needless civil war.
“Cattle breeding is a private business
and you cannot force your private business on the resources of others.
If the Federal Government creates cattle colonies, would they create
piggery colonies across states in the north?
“We support ranching as the best
solution to the killings going on in the country. Ranching is the way to
go and the Federal Government should stop playing politics with the
lives of innocent Nigerians to please a particular group in the
country,” he said.
While accusing the Federal Government of
playing double standard on issues of security in the country, CAN said
the government last year declared Independent People of Biafra as a
terrorist group and launched the Operation Python Dance, and Operation Crocodile Smile against IPOB and Niger Delta Avengers, but failed to do so on herdsmen “who have killed more people than Boko Haram.
“We urge the Federal Government to live
up to its constitutional responsibility of protecting the lives and
property of the people. It will not be in the interest of anybody if the
people resort to self-defence because government has failed to protect
them,” the state CAN chairman said.
