Ortom Furious with Dan Ali , Says Cows, Herdsmen now Have Immunity, Alleges Aides Misleading Buhari …
Benue State Governor, Mr. Samuel Ortom has condemned the statement by the Minister of Defence where he claimed that the reason for the recent attack and killings of people in Benue State and other parts of Nigeria by Fulani headsman was due to the enactment of anti-open grazing laws of the states.
This is as the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has asked the minister of Defence retired Major General Mansur Dan-Ali to stop providing subtle justification for the dastardly criminal attacks by suspected armed Fulani herdsmen and charged President Muhammadu Buhari to rejig the composition of the security council to avoid ethnicising issues.
The governor who was visibly angry over the statement accused top aides of the presidency of conspiracy and backing the killings in Benue state.
The Governor spoke when he received the Bishop and Founder of World Harvest Ministry Leonard Kawas in Makurdi.
He said the comments coming from top appointees of the president clearly showed there were self-serving people who were giving the president bad advice.
“Well, it is unfortunate but I want to console myself that this thing is not coming from the Honourable Minister, but if it did, I will say that it is very unfortunate. The solution to the security challenges we have in this country is not in sight having those kind of people in power who are not able to give quality advice and to also proffer solutions to the security problems we have here.
“Take for instance, if you say it is because of the law that killings by herdsmen are going on in Benue, is there any law prohibiting open grazing in Adamawa State? Is there any law in Plateau State? Is there any law in Kaduna, Ondo, Bayelsa, Imo, Ebonyi, Delta or Edo States? In Edo state, cattle have taken over even schools."
He berated the federal government for trying to cause unnecessary distraction and finding covers for the action of the headsmen.
He insisted that it is only in Nigeria that cows and headsmen were having immunity like president and governors.
"The federal government has provided immunity for headsmen and their herds or how come these people are moving around freely with weapons and disobeying laws of the land without government arresting them" He said what the minister of defence said was an insult to the people of Benue adding that the minister and others were dancing on the graves of those killed.
According to the Governor, those
around Buhari were out to divert attention from the killing by herdsmen by accusing him of raising 6000 militias.
"I own no militia and I have been
an advocate of amnesty to criminals were we succeeded in disarming and destroying over seven hundred arms since I became governor so it’s just an attempt to divert attention", Ortom
insisted.
He said the statement from the minister was provocative, insisting that he would see the minister to ask why he made such statement.
He also emphasised that ranching was the only acceptable way to stop the killings by herdsmen while stating that Benue people would never accept grazing routs or colonies.