No amount of intimidation would make Benue allow herdsmen to graze openly

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has stated that no amount of intimidation would make him reverse his stance on open grazing, vowing to continue with the anti-open grazing law passed in the state, and insisting that “there’s no land in Benue for open grazing.”

The Governor also said that he would not adopt the cattle colonies suggested by the federal government through the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, stressing that herdsmen had no free land in Benue to graze their cattle.

Speaking on the last attacks, the governor revealed that he saw signs of the impending herdsmen attack in the state and reported same to the security without any response.

Ortom made this known on Wednesday in Makurdi at a stakeholders’ meeting to discuss the security situation in the State.

“I saw the attacks coming and we wrote several letters of complaint to the police and complained to the presidency, yet nothing happened.

“We called for the arrest of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) but nobody responded; we have facts that can be used against them.”

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The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, and top police officers including the DIG operations, Habila Joshak, as well as two commissioners of police for Benue and Nasarawa states, were in attendance.

The governor expressed regret that after repeated complaints to the police and other security agencies in the country on the threats of attacks by MACBAN, nothing was done to secure lives and property in the state.

“We called for the arrest of leaders of the association; we had evidence to support our claims but nobody paid heed to us.

“We wrote to you IGP three times but received no response. We briefed the presidency yet to no avail,” he lamented. Ortom said the refusal of the security agencies to act and their lax attitude on the matter led to the mayhem of January 1.

He wondered why public statements of intended aggression against the state on national television and radio stations by members of the association had not been investigated and arrests accrued out. He vowed to continue with the anti-open grazing law, stressing “there is no land in Benue for open grazing”.

Ortom appealed to the IGP to immediately order the arrest of leaders of MACBAN to give hope to the ordinary citizens that all people were equal before the law.

The governor said that the herdsmen that attacked the state came from their bases in Nasarawa State and challenged the police to refute his claims.

Responding, the IGP said he had not received such letters of complaints from the governor but promised to investigate the claims and fish out the aggressors. He said the police had deployed 663 police operatives and created 10 mobile units to deal with the insecurity in the state.

Idris said the police would deploy helicopter surveillance to monitor the movement of such miscreants across the state and pledged to be diligent in discharging the presidential assignment.

He explained that the situation was not yet beyond the capacity of the police, stressing “there is no need for the army to be invited”.

Other speakers at the meeting including the Tor Tiv, Prof. James Ayatse, called on the IGP to ensure the arrest of the aggressors. They rejected the suggested cattle colonies in the state and affirmed their support for the implementation of the anti-open grazing law.

They also called on the Federal Government to commence the process of establishing ranches across the country as the best solution to the crisis.

 

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