Benue killings: FG, security agencies‘ve abandoned us – Ortom.

                     
GOVERNOR Samuel Ortom of Benue State has accused
the Federal Government and the various security
agencies of abandoning the citizens of the state to be
slaughtered by rampaging Fulani herdsmen.

In an exclusive interview with Vanguard, Governor
Ortom, who decried the recurring killing of Benue
people by herdsmen, also lamented that a cabal has
blocked communications with President Muhammadu
Buhari. He added that if the intention of those blocking
access to the President was to make the state rescind
its decision to sign the anti-open grazing law, they have
failed because, according to him, there is no going
back on the law.
The governor spoke as the Nigeria Bar Association,
NBA, criticised President Buhari over his alleged
indifference to the Benue killings. Also, Benue
Committee of Elders, led by veteran Journalist, Elder
Simon Shango urged President Buhari to set up a
commission of enquiry on the killings.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project,
SERAP, has appealed to Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein,
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to “urgently
call and/or facilitate the holding of a special session of
the UN Human Rights Council to address persistent
killings apparently by herdsmen in Benue State and
other parts of the country.”
The organization also urged Prince Al Hussein to “speak
out strongly and condemn the killings, and make an
official visit to Nigeria with special rapporteurs with
relevant mandates to discuss the killings and concrete
actions to end the killings and ultimately bring about
significant improvement in the lives of farmers and
their families as well as other citizens affected by
violence across the country.”
Meanwhile, the Police, through the Deputy Inspector
General of Police, DIG, in charge of Operations, Mr.
Habila Joshak, has promised that the force in
collaboration with the military would fish out the
masterminds of the attacks and bring them to Justice.
“The Police and the military have agreed that there
would be no recurrence of the crisis and killings and
all those fingered in the killings would be arrested. So,
the search for the masterminds of the killings has
started. Already, we have increased the manpower of
the Benue command and I can assure you that in no
distant time, all those fingered in the killings will be
arrested. If it is established that anyone of those being
mentioned as being responsible for the killings is truly
involved, we will have him arrested without delay,” he
said.