By ‘Dotun Akintomide
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue has made a fresh call for self-defence in Benue State amidst the rising death toll of recent attacks on Gwer West communities in the state.
After recent attacks on some communities in Gwer West Local Government Area by suspected Fulani herdsmen, death toll has risen to twenty-four.
Paramount ruler, Gwer West LGA, the Ter Nagi, Daniel Abomtse, disclosed this when Governor Samuel Ortom paid the people of the area a condolence visit over the recent attacks.
On Monday, herdsmen also killed one soldier in Guma Local Government Area. Governor Ortom, who was briefed during the visit, said he was not prepared to set up another IDP camp in the area.
He told the people of the affected communities that the time to stop running was now; it was the time to defend themselves from every form of external aggression.
According to him, “It is not enough to run away; you must stay and defend your land.
“This land belongs to us; we will not go anywhere but stay here and protect it.”
Ortom, who noted that lawlessness had begun to set in, argued that it may lead to anarchy and observed that no one was safe in a state of anarchy.
The governor disclosed that security men were not spared by the herdsmen, pointing out that herdsmen killed another soldier in Guma Local Government Area of the state on Monday.
He noted that since the New Year’s Day attacks on Logo and Guma local government areas, eleven policemen and three men of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have been killed by the herdsmen.
Ortom, however, promised that he would continue to work, support, and strengthen security agencies in the state through logistics to tackle issues of insecurity in Benue.
Ortom’s call is coming long after Prof. Itse Sagay, a constitutional lawyer, had asked the governor to stop mourning and defend his people against attacks.
Most recently, Lt. General Theophilus Danjuma, former Chief of Army Staff and Defence Minister, at the maiden convocation and 10th anniversary of the Taraba State University, Jalingo, on Saturday, March 24, made the same call.
He had said: “Taraba is a mini Nigeria with diverse ethnic groups living together peacefully, but the peace in this state is under assault. There is an attempt at ethnic cleansing in the state and of course, some rural states in Nigeria.
“We must resist it. We must stop it. Every one of us must rise up. Our armed forces are not neutral.
“They collude with the bandits to kill people, kill Nigerians. The armed forces guide their movements; they cover them.
“If you are depending on the armed forces to stop the killings, you will all die one by one.
“This ethnic cleansing must stop in Taraba State and other rural states of Nigeria otherwise Somalia will be a child’s play.” He said.
