Ortom raises the alarm, accuses Miyeitti Allah of plans to foist violence in Benue

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom on Monday raised the alarm that Miyeitti Allah is planning to foist violence on the state.

In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase, Governor Ortom noted that Miyetti Allah group in collaboration with some opposition elements in the state plan to sponsor protests and a sustained media campaign against him.

The governor said that his sin, according to findings was his dogged stand against open grazing of animals in the state, his call for the declaration of armed herdsmen as terrorists and his administration’s opposition to Fulani Vigilante.

He said that the Miyeitti Allah working in cahoots with some members of the opposition in the state had initiated the anti-Ortom campaign which he said is to be sustained between now and the end of 2022.

The governor further said that the Miyeitti Allah and it’s cohort also are planning media publications targeted at painting his administration in the state as a failure, a lie that is to be forced on Benue people in the next two and a half years. The coordinated smear campaign has already begun as seen in a section of the media.

ALSO READ: COVID-19: Kwara govt distributes sanitisers as students begin exams

Parts of the statement read, “On the other hand, the sponsored protests by some youth groups are intended to create chaos, tension and fear among the populace and possibly trigger violent clashes capable of leading to loss of lives.
It is obvious that the herdsmen are not tired of bloodletting in Benue State.

“For Governor Ortom who had previously come under a series of threats even to his life from armed herdsmen and their conspirators, the latest plot by these enemies of Benue State is not an unfamiliar terrain.

“It is the same desperation those who have sworn to make Benue ungovernable displayed before and during the 2019 elections that are beginning to rear its head again.

“The governor says he is not intimidated or distracted by the antics of armed Fulani herdsmen and their sponsors. No amount of falsehood in the media or any other platform can change his commitment to selfless service to Benue people.

“The governor says for the umpteenth time that the state will NOT repeal the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law to pave way for Fulani herdsmen to take over the people’s ancestral lands for cattle grazing. “The Law has not only come to stay; it is fully being enforced.

“The Ranching Law has been well accepted by the people of Benue State and no intimidation or arm-twisting tactics from the named groups can change it.

“Governor Ortom urges àsecurity forces to check activities of Miyetti Allah groups who have sworn on several occasions to foist violence on Benue, and bring their members to justice for their crimes against the people of the state”, Ortom said in the statement.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE