TheNewsGuru

Tag: Benue

  • Ortom to Buhari: No grazing routes in Benue

    Ortom to Buhari: No grazing routes in Benue

    Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has debunked President Muhammadu Buhari’s statement asking his attorney general to reopen all grazing routes as gazetted in the past.

    But Ortom said there is no grazing reserves or cattle routes in Benue State to be opened.

    “Grazing reserves are not in the Constitution. There is anti-open grazing law in Benue State and anyone who contravenes it would be arrested and prosecuted”, he said.

    Ortom spoke at the burial of Pa Daniel Akange Ape, in Tse Ape, Mbaikyurav-Yar, Mbayegh, Ushongo Local Government Area of Benue State,The Nation reported.

    He advised the people of Benue State to use legal means and defend themselves as they have cried enough.

    “We have cried enough, now it’s time to defend ourselves. We have talked too much and we are not talking again.

    “Get yourself bow and arrow. If they attack you, come out of your house, you don’t need a license to own a cutlass stand up and defend yourselves and land. We must defend our land.”

    He described the late Pa Akange as committed Christian who brought up all his children in a Godly way.

  • #BenueUnderAttack: Nigerians blast FG, security operatives over continuous attacks, killings in Benue

    #BenueUnderAttack: Nigerians blast FG, security operatives over continuous attacks, killings in Benue

    The President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government on Friday came other serious bashing over the recent attacks on Benue communities leaving scores of people dead.

    According to reports, the violent attacks were masterminded by suspected herdsmen.

    Trending the hashtag #BenueUnderAttack on Friday, Nigerian Twitter users called the attention of authorities to gory images as evidence of mass killings.

    Over 200 people have been reportedly killed in the last month in Benue.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG gathered that earlier in the week, suspected herders attacked Katsina Ala Local Government Area of the state, killing over a hundred residents and rendering many others homeless.

    TNG reports that the governor of the state, Samuel Ortom, has repeatedly called out President Buhari over his unperturbed stance on the killings allegedly perpetrated by herdsmen going on in the state.

    The state government, against the advice of the federal government, said it would not revert its ban on open grazing.

    Governor Ortom has also urged the people to defend themselves against killer herders.

    “I’ll no longer announce the deaths of those killed by Fulani herdsmen; rise up and defend yourselves with weapons not prohibited by law, bows and arrows, spears, knives, and similar ones,” Ortom said on Sunday.

    However, Nigerians who felt moved by the sight of the mass killings allegedly perpetrated on Thursday night could not take it anymore as they called for immediate action plans on the part of the federal government and security operatives to end the mass attacks and killings going in the state.

    See some reactions below:

    https://twitter.com/Emekannaoma/status/1398271320148807680?s=20

    https://twitter.com/henryshield/status/1398318070758789120?s=20

  • Nine shot dead in Benue community again

    Nine shot dead in Benue community again

    Gunmen attacked Agan community in Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue on Friday. leaving nine persons dead.

    Terkimbi Shom, one of the locals, told the newsmen on Saturday that nobody knew where the attackers came from.

    Shom said: “These attacks are becoming too frequent.

    “This is the second time in less than three weeks that the attackers launched attacks on our community.

    “We hardly sleep well nowadays for fear of attacks.

    “I appeal to the Federal Government to please send security operatives to our area to safeguard our lives as well as property.”

    The Spokeswoman of the Benue State Police Command, DSP Sewuese Anene, confirmed the attack.

  • Defend yourselves against armed invaders, Ortom tells benue people

    Defend yourselves against armed invaders, Ortom tells benue people

    Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, on Monday, urged residents of the state to defend themselves against armed invaders who stormed their communities to kill people.

    Ortom, who made the remark while reacting to questions from journalists on his arrival in Makurdi from Oyo State where he attended the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ meeting, said people need to rise up against unnecessary invasion of their homes by intruders suspected to be armed herders.

    Meanwhile, forum of PDP governors at the end of their meeting, held at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, which was chaired by Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, issued a six-point communiqué, where it insisted that ranching be adopted as permanent solution to the herders/farmers clashes in the country.

    The governors also reiterated the call for restructuring and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to summon meeting of the Nigerian Police Council and devolve more powers to states to douse the tension in the country and curb insecurity besetting it.

    The meeting presided over by the PDP governors’ forum chairman and attended by 10 of his colleagues as well as the Zamfara State deputy governor, Mahdi Gusau, equally charged the National Assembly to immediately amend the Constitution to give effect to devolution of powers and state policing.

    Apart from Ortom, other governors in attendance were Governors Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom), Douye Diri (Bayelsa), Samuel Ortom (Benue State), Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) and Nyesom Wike (Rivers).

    Others were Governors Oluseyi Makinde (Oyo), Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri (Adamawa), Godwin Obaseki (Edo), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi) and Zamfara State Deputy Governor, Mahdi Aliyu Gusau. States not represented were Abia, Cross River and Taraba.

    Having reviewed the state of the nation, the PDP governors called on President Buhari to send an Executive Bill to the National Assembly to amend the 1999 Constitution to devolve powers to states with respect to security architecture that will give birth to state police.

    They said: “In the interim, Mr President should summon an immediate meeting of the Nigerian Police Council, which comprises Mr President and all state governors and other critical stakeholders to evolve and implement strategies to combat the present threats to our union, especially with respect to policing. The meeting agreed that the Police Force still remains the appropriate institution to secure our democracy and should not be subjected to personal attacks. The welfare, training, equipment, funding of all security agencies should be given priority.”

    The governors also threw their weight behind Southern Governors on the need to adopt ranching and restructuring of the country, adding that various civil institutions must be reformed to enhance efficiency.

    They said: “The meeting supports the earlier position taken by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Northern Governors Forum and recently by the Southern Governors’ Forum to adopt ranching as the most viable solution to the herders/farmers clashes in Nigeria; the restructuring of the Nigerian federation to devolve more powers and functions to the states; and reform of various civil institutions to achieve efficiency and equity for all sections of Nigeria.”

    It called on the All Progressives Congress (APC) “to take bold and deliberate steps to de-escalate and lower tensions in our country, and concentrate on projects and policies that will enhance and promote national unity and cohesion.”

    Announcing the objective of the meeting earlier, Tambuwal said the situation in the country calls for everyone who is committed to the Nigerian State to put hands on deck, not only in prayers but also in action by working together to rescue this country.

    Tambuwal said: “That is the promise the PDP is holding for Nigeria, by the grace of God, come 2023. We are on a salvation mission; and it is part of the reasons why we institutionalise this meeting.”

    Host governor, Oluseyi Makinde, described the ruling APC as a party without the requisite national spread. “This is the difference between our party, PDP and the APC. If they try to have such a meeting they will not have a representative from the South-So

  • Insecurity: Ortom attacks Buhari to hide his failure in Benue – El-Rufai

    Insecurity: Ortom attacks Buhari to hide his failure in Benue – El-Rufai

    Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, says his Benue State counterpart, Samuel Ortom, uses the insecurity in his state to attack the President Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government in order to cover up his own failure.

    El-Rufai, therefore, stated that he no longer takes Ortom seriously.

    The Kaduna governor said this while responding to a video showing Ortom addressing protesters after some killings in Benue State.

    The video was played during a webinar organised by the Africa Leadership Group.

    Responding, el-Rufai said, “I did not hear what Governor Ortom said (in the video) but I know him and he is not somebody I take very seriously, frankly. He has other issues of governance that he is using the Federal Government as a punching bag to distract attention from his failures.

    “Go and find out how many months’ salaries are being owed teachers and public servants in Benue State then you can understand a lot of what Ortom is doing.”

    El-Rufai, however, admitted that there is a fundamental problem with the capacity of the Armed Forces and the police.

    “We have a serious national problem. I wouldn’t say we are totally helpless but we are in a situation where the Armed Forces and the police have lost significant confidence in themselves and their institutions,” he said.

    The governor said security agents need more weapons and there is a need to increase the number of operatives.

  • Buhari reacts to fresh violence, killings in Benue, Anambra

    Buhari reacts to fresh violence, killings in Benue, Anambra

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday called for an end to what he described as “the cycle of violence” in Benue and Anambra states.

    In a statement signed by spokesman Garba Shehu, the President said the inclination for people to take law into their hands “in the name of revenge” will lead to “no winners . . . only losers.”

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that at least 19 people were killed in Gwer West Local Government of Benue State on Monday which apparently led to reprisals on innocent people by mobs that blocked roads to unleash terror and violence, according to the statement.

    The statement also said there had been the killing of innocent people in Anambra State by mobs.

    “I totally condemn this latest unprovoked violence and counter-attacks on innocent people that had nothing to do with the cause of the violence,” the President was quoted as saying.

    “Violence on innocent people by anybody and any group is unacceptable and indefensible.

    “Hate and bigotry have eaten so deeply and violates the sanctity of life. If we allow this culture of violence to go unchecked, such mobs would destroy law and order.”

    The President urged leaders of ethnic and religious groups “to play their own roles constructively in controlling their followers or members, in order to support the government’s efforts for sustainable peace.”

    He cautioned Nigerians against the “temptations of taking the law into their hands in the name of revenge because there are no winners in the cycle of violence, only losers.”

    The statement added that the “President sends his commiserations to the families of the bereaved and the governments and people of Benue and Anambra States.

    “He also commends the police and other law enforcement agencies for their prompt response in averting the escalation of the violence, urging them to put in every effort to apprehend perpetrators of the heinous attacks.”

  • 19 killed as gunmen storm Benue communities

    19 killed as gunmen storm Benue communities

    The Benue State Police Command has confirmed attacks by some gunmen on communities in Gwer West Local Government Area of the state.

    The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Catherine Anene, confirmed the attack on Monday to newsmen.

    The police spokesperson, however, said the command was yet to receive full details of the incident.

    Anene said that gunmen in the early hours of Monday attacked Mbamondu and Vengav in Avihijime council ward in Udam and Tse Amgbem, close to Aondona, all in Gwer West Local Government Area

    She, however, said that the Command was also yet to get full details of the attack on the communities.

    However, the Chairman of the Gwer West Local Government Area, Grace Igbabon, told The PUNCH on the phone that 19 people were killed in three separate attacks in the area between Sunday and Monday.

    Igbabon said: “We had about six persons yesterday (Sunday) and 13 people today.

    “I was told that the attackers were suspected herdsmen who attacked the Mbamodu community and killed 13 people and several others injured.

    “The attackers burnt down several houses in the community.

    “The other incidents happened on Sunday at other side of Mbachon.

    “Some motorcyclists were riding on the road and they saw a man in military uniform who stopped them.

    “I was told that in the process of slowing down, another set of people who possibly had laid ambush came out from the bush and shot severally at them, four of them died and one later escaped.

    “Also along Naka/Makurdi Road on Sunday, they (suspected herdsmen) killed two others.”

  • SAD! Herdsmen kill man, wife in Benue

    SAD! Herdsmen kill man, wife in Benue

    Suspected herdsmen have murdered a man and his wife in Udei, a community in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.

    Igba Faga and his wife were hacked to death on Tuesday evening on their way home from their farm.

    The attack came less than 24 hours after some armed herders invaded an Internally Displaced Persons camp in the state, killing seven persons.

    Governor Samuel Ortom said over 70 persons have been killed by herdsmen in the last few weeks.

    All the deaths were recorded in Guma, Makurdi and Gwer-West local government areas, TheNewsGuru gathered

    Paul Hembah, Special Adviser on Security to Governor Ortom, said on Wednesday that the herdsmen ambushed the Fagas and hacked them to death.

    He further explained that the couple, who were on their motorcycle, died on the spot and their remains evacuated by their family members for burial.

     

  • Herdsmen kill couple returning from farm in Benue

    Herdsmen kill couple returning from farm in Benue

    Barely 24 Hours after the killing of seven people at an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in the Benue State by suspected Fulani herdsmen, a couple was reportedly hacked to death by suspected herdsmen.

    According to the report, the husband and wife were reported to be returning from the farm on Tuesday evening when they were ambushed by suspected Fulani herdsmen and hacked to death.

    The latest incident happened at Udei branch in Mbabai council ward of Guma Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State.

    A native who did not want his name mentioned told our correspondent that the man identified as Igba Faga and his wife were returning from the farm when the suspected herdsmen attacked and killed them.

    He explained that the husband and wife were on their motorcycle returning home from the farm on Tuesday evening when they were hacked to death.

    Confirming the attack, Governor Samuel Ortom’s security adviser, Col Paul Hemba (retd) said that the herdsmen had laid ambush on the couple and hacked them to death.

    He further explained that the couple who were on their motorcycle going home died on the spot and their remains have been evacuated by their family members for burial.

    The security adviser described the attack as one attack too many and lamented that the incident took place less than 24 hours after herdsmen attacked the IDP camp on Tuesday, where seven persons were killed.

    When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Catherine Anene said she was yet to get the report.

  • Ortom in tears as herdsmen militiamen kill seven Internally Displaced Persons

    Ortom in tears as herdsmen militiamen kill seven Internally Displaced Persons

    No fewer than seven Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, were killed after suspected armed herdsmen militia attacked the Abagena IDPs camp on the outskirts of Makurdi, the Benue state capital.

    It was gathered that the unprovoked attack which took place around 2am on Tuesday left many IDPs with serious injuries

    Among the first callers to the camp for on-the-spot assessment was Governor Samuel Ortom who could not hold back tears as he addressed angry Benue youths.

    The youths had taken to the Makurdi-Lafia Road to protest on Tuesday morning, blocking the roads with the remains of the deceased.

    The governor described the attack as inhuman and barbaric, while calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to do more to protect Nigerians. .

    According to the governor, over 70 persons have been killed in Makurdi alone in the last two weeks.

    “If the Federal Government had taken the issue of militia herders seriously, it wouldn’t have escalated to this level,” he said.