Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has asked the President Muhammadu Buhari regime to demonstrate the same zeal put into the arrest of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, to the arrest of leaders of militia herdsmen and Miyetti Allah who have owned up to the killings in the state.
Ortom insisted that it was by so doing that the government would be taken seriously in its acclaimed fight against insurgency and terrorism in the country.
The Governor who spoke Thursday while flagging off the sale of fertilizer in Makurdi urged the Federal Government to give Benue people justice by ensuring the arrest of leaders of militia herdsmen who were killing and sacking communities in the state thereby frustrating food production in the state.
He said, “if the federal government has demonstrated capacity to arrest Nnamdi Kanu, they should also exhibit the same zeal, will and decision to arrest the Fulani herdsmen that are terrorizing our state and country.
“Let that be done, they are living here with us. If Nnamdi Kanu can be arrested from a foreign land, I believe that if the federal government can exhibit the same will, they will arrest Fulani herdsmen, especially Miyetti Allah who have owned up to the killings in Benue state and have continued to terrorize our land.
“It is laughable and unfortunate when I heard that Miyetti Allah are calling Nnamdi Kanu a terrorist. Someone who is fighting for the liberation of his people is being called a terrorist by a terrorist organization called Miyetti Allah and Fulani herdsmen.
“So the federal government should rise up to its responsibilities and arrest the people.”
Continuing, the Governor said: “I have no problem with trying Nnamdi Kanu, but the due process should be followed and let there be justice. If he has committed any offense, let there be justice.
“But the federal government must also do justice by arresting Fulani herdsmen that have been terrorizing our land, who have created so much problems, pains and challenges to our economy, to our security and to our unity. If the federal government does not do that, it means that they are not serious.
“I must however commend the efforts of security personnel in checking the activities of the militia herdsmen in our communities. We call on the federal government to boost their efforts in creating and sustaining safer environment for our people to return back to their ancestral homes.”
The Governor lamented that with over one million Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, Benue was carrying a huge burden saying that there was need for a committed intervention on the part of the federal government to enable them return to their ancestral homes.
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