Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue state has again rejected the
suggestion that the state create Cattle Colony or Grazing Routes for herdsmen.
He said the suggestions were not acceptable to the Benue
people.
Ortom stated this on Thursday in Makurdi in a service to
mark the mass burial of the victims of the herdsmen invasion. He had stated
this position on Wednesday at a stakeholders meeting attended by the Inspector
General of Police. Idris Ibrahim.
On Thursday, he said since the state does not even have
adequate land for farmers, it does not have the space to give herdsmen for
grazing.
He insisted on ranching, saying “it is the best way to go
and it is in conformity with global best practices”.
Ortom said that if the recent killings by herdsmen were
meant to intimidate the state government to repeal the law, the herdsmen had
failed woefully.
the coffins of the victims on arrival in Makurdi
He also blamed the killings of Benue indigenes on the
silence of the Federal Government and others responsible for the security of
lives and property, an accusation he also made on Wednesday.
Ortom lamented that if the Federal Government had acted on
the reports he gave it concerning the threats of attacks by the Miyetti Allah
Kautal Hore, the killings would have been averted.
He urged the Federal Government to arrest the leadership of
the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore because they had severally made incisive statements
against the state.
He, therefore, stated that the recent killings were a
pointer to the fact that they had threatened and executed their devilish
threats.
He condoled the families of the slain victims and those that
were injured as well as those that lost their property.
Also, the CAN Chairman, Rev. Akpen Leva, urged Benue
citizens to unite irrespective of tribe, political and religious differences in
order to tackle their enemies.
Leva described the attacks as a “genocide” that was targeted
at exterminating the Tiv’s.
Former Military Governor, Katsina State, Gen. Lawrence Onoja
(rtd) also described the attacks” a conspiracy against the indigenes” and said
it would be resisted.
Also in a funeral eulogy, Sen. Joseph Waku, said the state
has had enough of the senseless killings saying” enough is enough”.
The Tor Tiv, Prof James Ayatse alleged that the killings in
the New Year attacks were signs of an ethnic cleansing agenda.
He said the persistent attacks on Benue communities were
worrisome, especially since the federal government failed to prevent
re-occurrence.
He said the herdsmen have attacked Benue 47 times in five
years, attacks, he said were akin to an agenda of genocide.
"I, therefore, call on the Federal Government to act
swiftly by putting an end to this killing; this act of impunity must stop.”
He encouraged Gov Samuel Ortom to stand firm in his resolve
to implement the anti-open grazing law, no matter the threats from the Miyetti
Allah Kautal Hore.
The paramount ruler called for prayers for the dead and
appealed to the media to report the carnage that had befallen the state.
An elder statesman and Second Republic Minister of Steel and
Industry, Mr Paul Unongo, sounded a strong warning to the aggressors saying”
enough is enough”.
He said the people of the state who fought in the civil war
to sustain the unity of Nigeria, would not continue to allow invaders to kill
and maim their people if the Federal Government failed to protect them.
“We are capable of raising a million people to defend our
land if nothing is done to stop the killings. Enough of the killings.”
Earlier in his funeral oration, the Catholic Bishop of Gboko
Diocese, Most Rev. Williams Avenya, prayed for the repose of the souls of the
dead and called for prayers for the survivors of the attacks.
He regretted that despite the massive support the people
gave to the APC at the federal level, all they could receive in return were the
73 corpses of their beloved ones murdered in cold blood.
Also in a speech, the Country Representative of the UN in
Nigeria, Mr Martins Ejidike, said the world body would consider the request for
humanitarian assistance to the 50,000-displaced people during the attacks.
He assured the UN would further discuss the details of the
assistance with the Benue governor and prayed for peace in the state.
One of the survivors, Mr Akaater Azera, said that the
herdsmen came in the night while they were asleep and started shooting sporadically.
According to him, when his wife came out, the gun toting men
shot and killed her on the spot.
Azera added that when he ran out of the house, he was
pursued, with machete cuts inflicted on his face and leg.
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