Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state has bombed the President Muhammadu Buhari’s led federal government, saying the administration has been complicit in the spate of onslaughts said to have been orchestrated by armed Fulani herdsmen across Nigerian communities.
According to Ortom, the ‘Fulanisation of Nigeria’ is systematically going on under the guise of bandit and Islamist attacks by Fulani militias from across countries in the Sahel in cahoot with their homegrown collaborators, dating back to years now. He alleged that this is targeted at wiping out people from their ancestral land and taking over same.
The Governor knocked the federal government for failing to do enough to curb the menace of the Fulani herdsmen’s attacks on a daily basis, adding that the government has refused to entertain meaningful suggestions and solutions to the insecurity crisis rocking the country.
Ortom made this much bombastic statements while speaking with Arise TV, monitored by The New Diplomat on Wednesday.
The Governor who recalled how he was attacked in March, last year by some Fulani herdsmen despite being a sitting governor of Benue State, said the Federal government was yet to bring the criminal elements to book, adding that those that were initially arrested in connection to the crime have since been freed.
In his words, “Even me as governor of the Benue state, attempted assassination was done on me for more than one year up to today no culprit have been brought to book. As I talk to you, even those that I was told as governor of Benue state, that they were arrested have been freed. These are Fulani herdsmen officials who were arrested have been freed. The preson they are prosecuting is my cousin and the Chukun fisherman who had no link with what happened to me when I was attacked more than years ago.
“So, this is the challenge that we have, the day that the federal government wants this insurgency, and killings and invasion, and taking over of lands, by these Fulani herdsmen to stop, that’s when it will stop. But for now, I accused them to be complicit because severally, I have provided a solution on that the way to go.”
Speaking further, Ortom tasked the federal government to organise a security summit where all Governors of the federation and other stakeholders will discuss the problems peculiar to their respective states and as well as find lasting solutions to them.
He continued: “Can we have a security summit, where Samuel Ortom will be there to talk about facts that are in my own state. And then we can listen to other states, who will tell us what has been going on in their state. Then we will try to provide a solution if the Federal government wants that.
“So today, I want to say that the federal government is complicit, and that if they are ready they will work with us. Because it is a planned agenda over 200 years ago, that they have planned to take over Nigeria, as theor country.
“Today, it is a very big challenge. It is a problem and without security, there is no way we can move forward in this country. And so I still want to insist that federal government is complicit. I stand on that and I have proof. If opportunity is given to me today that I’m talking to him you, in the next 15 minutes the programme will be over. But if you call insecurity Summit, which I’ve been advocating since 2017, I’m ready to provide documents and I’m ready to provide material that will provide evidence that truly this government is complicit and that they’re just deceiving people as far as I’m concerned.”
