A group known as Benue Alliance For Truth and Justice has thrown their weight behind Governor Samuel Ortom’s Anti-Open Grazing Law as a necessary tool to curtail the herdsmen menace in the country.
The National President of the group, Peter Shande stated this while responding to recent statement against Governor Samuel Ortom from one Salihu Mohammed, Chairman of Arewa Youths for Peace and Development.
The Area Youth group had demanded that the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, to tender an apology to Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State.
In a swift reaction, Shande said it was unfortunate that the group failed to appreciate the issues raised by the Governor Ortom in respect to the raging security challenges facing Benue State and Nigeria in general.
He said Governor Samuel Ortom, has, over the years, been at the threshold of Fulani menace having experienced first hand the atrocities of the Fulani as chairman of Guma Local Government council in the nineties, burying hundreds of people as governor and now grappling with over 800,000 homeless people who now live in IDP camps.
“It was therefore provocative and an insult to the sensibilities of the people of Benue and Nigeria for the Bauchi governor to support Fulani herdsmen to be carrying AK47 assault riffles while herding their cattle.
“Our take on the spurious demands by the Salihu led Arewa Youth group is that the Fulani menace has dominated the six years Governor Ortom has spent as the Governor of Benue State. It is unfortunate to say that he has buried more citizens killed by the Fulani than all the past administrations put together.
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They called on the Arewa group and particularly, the Bauchi Governor to desist from their gruesome patronage of terrorist Fulani group but to be committed to the defence of the rights of all citizens, majority and minority, including ethnic and religion minorities, meting out justice without fear or favour when crimes are committed.
“We vehemently object to the allegation that Samuel Ortom is the “author of crises affecting Fulani people in the country. This is outright falsehood. If anything, the strains the Governor has been through are caused by the wanton killing of innocent farmers by Fulani herdsmen in Benue state.
“The Fulani menace has threatened our farming culture which is the standard bearing of our state. As the Food Basket of the nation, how can we maintain it if our crops have become fodder for Fulani cows while our farmlands have become grazing fields for the cattle?
“We stand with our Governor on this line of advice, that the Bauchi state governor should apologise to Nigerians for the reckless statement supporting armed herdsmen in carrying weapons of mass destruction.
“We are proud to identify with the anti-open grazing law introduced by Governor Ortom. This is a law that the whole country now believes in its efficacy as the only solution to the menace of the Fulani herdsmen,” Shande said.
