The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has described the attacks on his kinsmen by suspected Fulani herdsmen as a declaration of total war on people of the state.
The governor said since 2011 when the attacks started, the state had lost illustrious sons and daughters as well as approximately N95billion.
The governor made these remarks, yesterday in Makurdi at the mass burial of those recently killed by Fulani herdsmen in Logo and Guma LGAs of the state.
Ortom, who wept profusely while giving his speech, called on both national and international communities to come to the aide of the state.
He noted that the attacks were aimed at making the state ungovernable.
His words, “For several years, these attackers have turned our beautiful and endowed land into their killing fields.
“These attacks have been intensified with alarming devastation since 2011.
“The report of a survey conducted by Bearua of LG and chieftaincy affairs in the state that in 2014, among 10 of the 23 LGAs of the state lost hundreds of lives and incurred losses of over N95billion.
“So far, 13 of the 23 LGAs have been affected.
“The govt and people of the state interpreted this clear handwriting on the wall as an open declaration of war on Benue State.
“Our people would not have been massacred. It would have been prevented because the state government delayed the implementation of the law until November 1, 2017 to give a grace period for those who needed permits to establish ranches.
“However, no Fulani herdsman or woman applied for permit.
“Rather than make attempts to comply with the law, their leaders continued to engage in more threats to resist the implementation.
“They also went to challenge the legitimacy of the law and the matter is still pending.
“The dead bore the characteristics of Fulani militia brutality- slit throats, deep cuts from machetes on his head, chest, back and neck with some of their private parts removed. It was well planned and clinically executed with specific targets.
“We wish to draw the attention of the national and international communities to the fact that Benue state has come under a deliberate, well planned and well funded siege. What started in Guma and Logo is a clear statement of the evil and devastating plan against the state.
“Our invaders do not care which political party we belong to, they don’t care where we worship. They do not care about our age and gender. All they care is to annihilate us, to obliterate us from Benue Valley so that their cattle can graze and drink freely from rivers in the state.
“History beckons and we must rise to the challenge which our forefathers confronted and surmounted.”
Meanwhile, Amnesty International has warned President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to be proactive in addressing the clashes between herdsmen and farmers to prevent the total breakdown of law and order.
Director of Amnesty International, Osai Ojigho, gave the warning, yesterday, during her appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
Ojigho is worried that the recent attacks by suspected herdsmen on some communities in Benue State and those recorded in other parts of the country might get out of hand if not tackled squarely.
“We are really reaching a boiling point of total anarchy,” she said.
“If you are to look at how things are developing, there’s a lot of anger from different affected communities, including those who actually are bearing the brunt of losing family members at this time of the year.
“We’ve been following the incessant killings that have been happening in this sort of clashes throughout last year and, of course, at the beginning of the year we woke up to experience another wave at an escalating level that we never thought would get to this point”, she said.
Amnesty International lamented that the governments at both federal and state levels are only doing little to address the issue.
The human rights group has asked them to ensure the perpetrators of the killings are arrested and made to face the wrath of the law.
“For us, what is really shocking is that we are yet to find a concrete response by government whether it’s at federal level or state level in terms of ensuring that those that are perpetuating these killings are arrested, are prosecuted, and actually the course of justice is allowed to proceed without any sort of fear or favour,” Ojigho said.
Also, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday prayed for the repose of the victims of last week’s killings in Guma and Logo local government areas of Benue State who were laid to rest in a mass burial yesterday.
In a condolence message posted on its official Twitter Handle, the party sympathized with the government and people of Benue State and called for the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of the evil act.
“We sympathize with Governor Samuel Ortom and the bereaved families of Guma and Logo local government areas of Benue State. We pray for the repose of the innocent souls. “
May the killers and masterminds of this evil have no rest. We charge those with the responsibility of bringing the perpetrators to book, to muster the courage to make the evil doers face the full wrath of the law,” the tweet read.
Similarly, the Tiv Area Traditional Council yesterday said it had concluded plans to report to the global community and the International Criminal Court the atrocities of Fulani herdsmen, including the recent killing of natives in Benue State.
The pan-Tiv traditional institution predicted that President Muhammadu Buhari would not score any vote if he seeks re-election in 2019.
It said the only way Buhari can get any support in Tivland if “he loves his political future” is to tackle the menace of Fulani herdsmen in Benue State “and bring a solution once and for all.”
The TATC said: “Of course, Buhari is a Fulani man, he has cattle. But if he loves his political future, he should tackle this matter and bring a solution once and for all because Benue State voted massively for him (in 2015); now, if he contests again (in 2019) and vote is cast, he will get zero vote from Benue State.”
The pan-cultural organisation also rejected the decision by the Federal Government to designate cattle colonies in different parts of the country and demanded a definition of it.
The Legal Adviser of TATC, Chief Edward Ashiekaa (SAN), stated these in an interview.
According to Ashuekaa, the position of the Benue State House of Assembly on Anti-Open Grazing Bill was very clear.
He said: “The law has come into being, it has prohibited open-grazing and every citizen must obey this law. The law has also protected cattle owners by prohibiting cattle rustling and providing stiff penalties.
The cattle herders are bent on disobeying these laws.
“The international community has to come into it. We are going to the Embassies, United Nations and even the International Criminal Court to ventilate our grievances. We are taking bold steps to inform the world that we are law abiding citizens. We have no capacity to fight the Fulani herdsmen; knowing the type of sophisticated weapons they have, our rural people cannot fight them. We want to win this war at the battle front, we don’t have the capacity to do that. We will win it at the international level and at the federal level.”
Ashiekaa challenged the Federal Government to explain what it meant by “cattle colonies” when, for instance, the Benue State Government has enacted laws prohibiting open grazing, which was resisted by the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association with serious threats.
He said: “The Federal Government has no right to enact the law nullifying the law which has been enacted by the Benue State Government. Under the constitution, they don’t have the right. As of now, the Benue State Government has enacted laws prohibiting open grazing. If you are bringing the aspect of cattle colony and it fits into our definition of ranching, we will accept it. But as of now, there is no definition of cattle colony.
“Miyetti Allah has come out severally to say they will disobey the law; they don’t recognise the law, the law is against their interest, so they will not obey it. Have you ever heard of such a thing in this country? The issue is whether or not the Benue State House of Assembly as a legislature has a right to enact the law that it did.”
The TATC also expressed displeasure over the position of the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, that the recent killing in Benue State was caused by a communal clash.
Ashiekaa said: “Does he know what communal is? The man is highly educated, otherwise he wouldn’t have risen to the position of IGP. But the whole world know that they are Fulani herdsmen, some are not even Nigerians but brought in just to create problems for the people and you are calling it communal clashes! The man should withdraw that statement and state the fact. As I am still talking to you there are still clashes ongoing between the herdsmen and the local people who are helpless, they are not armed.
He said: “You will recall that at the inception of the Samuel Ortom’s administration in Benue State, he pleaded with the hoodlums to surrender their weapons under an amnesty programme. It is even painful to say that President Muhammadu Buhari is involved in it.”