The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom says the Fulani herdsmen militia have been operating in collaboration with other terrorist groups to sustain their attacks on the state and other parts of the country.
Governor Ortom made the revelation in an interview with Epoch Times TV in Washington, DC, the United States of America, which was summarised by his Chief Press Secretary, Nathaniel Ikyur.
The Governor pointed out that from the information available to him, Boko Haram, ISIS, ISWAP and armed Fulani herdsmen are working for one agenda, emphasising that they were the same group of people operating under different names.
“They collaborate by providing arms to them and doing the same thing by killing people. Just like the Bible says, a thief cometh not only to steal but to kill and to destroy. So I have seen this collaboration in all these groups, they are doing the same thing,” he said.
Governor Ortom maintained that the enactment of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law of the State was his administration’s way of finding a solution to the lingering issue, which he noted has now exposed the agenda of the Fulani herdsmen, to be beyond the grazing of cattle.
The governor further dispelled the twisted narrative that it was a farmer/herder crisis ongoing in Benue State, insisting that the attacks were unprovoked and coordinated killings by the armed invaders.
“Most of the people who are killed, and whose homes are destroyed are farmers. The insurgents coming for these Jihadists go to attack villagers, not really in the urban areas. So farmers live in rural areas to engage in their farming activities.
“I must say that whatever you hear in America about what is happening in Nigeria, some people have the narrative that it is a farmer-herder crisis. It is not so. It is a dummy that has been sold to shield people away from knowing the truth.
“The truth is that you know in America, in Europe, in Asia and other parts of the world, people go into animal husbandry through ranching.
He maintained that in Brazil for instance, “it is on record that they have over 250 million herds of cattle, while in India, it is the same thing with over 200 million herds of cattle. The whole cattle in Nigeria that you hear so much about the farmer-herder crisis are not up to 30 million herds of cattle,” Governor Ortom stated.
He maintained that the security agencies were doing their best to curb the attacks but regretted that such efforts were not enough, saying that such outfits don’t have the manpower to be stationed in the flashpoints to wade off the attackers.
While insisting that the Federal Government is complicit in the current insecurity facing the country, Governor Ortom again reiterated his call for a national security summit where all stakeholders would be allowed to proffer solutions to the security problems.
The Governor also expressed worry that his request to the President to approve to procure automatic weapons for the newly established Community Volunteer Guards to enable the security outfit to match the strength of Fulani herdsmen terrorizing the state is yet to get a response from the presidency.
(Editor: Ifeanyi Mark)
