Nigeria: Benue Governor Ortom Alleges Plan to Hand Over Federal Government to Bandits

The governor of Benue State in Nigeria’s North-Central region Samuel Ortom accused the Muhammadu Buhari administration of pretending not to notice the unremitting killings of innocent Nigerians. Ortom, who spoke during an interview in Makurdi, also alleged plans by the government to yield power to criminal elements.

Ortom spoke on Wednesday in Makurdi during an interview with reporters at the Benue Peoples House, following the attack on two communities in the state where more than 23 persons were killed in their sleep by militia Fulani herdsmen.” He said, “Enough is enough.”

Suspected Fulani herdsmen had invaded and killed eight persons in Mbadwem in Guma local government and 16 in Tiortyu, a sprawling settlement in Tarka local government, along Makurdi-Gboko road.

Ortom described the attacks as “unfortunate and the height of impunity.”

He accused Buhari’s APC government of turning a blind eye and paying lip service to the cries of the Benue people, “As the herdsmen continue to invade our communities and kill innocent people.”

The governor recalled how he had alerted Nigerians and the federal government on the murderous activities of the Fulani terrorists for many years, “Yet they didn’t believe me. Now, they are gradually taking over every space in the country. We are now sharing our sovereignty with terrorists.”

Ortom alleged that the plan of the herdsmen and their sponsors was to send the people away from their ancestral homes, take over the lands, and cause confusion in the country so that the forthcoming elections would not hold.

He stated, “I suspect that very soon, some states will be completely taken over by these Fulani men called bandits. I suspect that very soon, even the Presidential Villa will be handed over to them. I suspect strongly that this is their plan and so nobody should deceive me.”

The governor said he was old enough to understand the agenda of the terrorists Fulani against Nigeria because, as he put it, “it is a plan to hand over to these Fulani men who are called bandits so there will be no election.”

He appealed to good spirited Fulani men and those who had the ears of the president to persuade him to stop the evil going on in the country.

Ortom warned that if nothing was done, the people would resort to self-help, which would throw the country into anarchy.

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