Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has urged the Federal Government to arrest leaders of the Fulani socio-cultural group, Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, to end banditry in Nigeria.
Reacting to a statement credited to the Fulani socio-cultural group, which accused the governor of profiling the Fulani and confiscating their cattle, Ortom accused the Fulani of considering themselves to be above the law in the country.
A statement yesterday in Makurdi, the state capital, by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Terver Akase, reads: “We read a statement credited to the Fulani socio-cultural group, known as Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, in which it accused Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom of profiling the Fulani and confiscating their cattle for auction.”
“This is not the first time that the group has launched a smear campaign against Governor Ortom. Miyetti Allah groups have marked the governor, not only for victimisation and vilification, but also for elimination. They don’t hide their evil intentions each time they speak about Governor Ortom.
“The groups have vowed never to obey the Benue State Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law and have, at various times since 2017, taken responsibility for the attacks on Benue people.
“Their statement that Governor Ortom has been profiling the Fulani, a claim which was in corroboration with comments of the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, is not only false but also mischievous.
“Groups, such as Miyetti Allah and Fulani Nationality Movement (FUNAM), have never hidden or denied their ethnicity when they issue press statements to threaten peace-loving Nigerians. In most cases, their threats come to pass. If anyone is guilty of profiling the Fulani, Miyetti Allah and the other groups fit that Bill.
“Governor Ortom has no personal issues with the Fulani. Some of his friends of many years are Fulani, and he also has some appointees of Fulani ethnicity. The governor is only against the attacks on his people by the Fulani who come from neighboring countries, like Niger, Chad, Mali, among others.
“He owes no one an apology for choosing to stand with his people in resisting those whose only agenda is to take over and occupy Benue lands.
“The Fulani groups consider themselves above the laws of this country. This is why they boldly issue directives, threats and make hostile comments on sensitive national issues, believing that the Federal Government or anyone else can do nothing to stop them.
“Now, they are calling for the establishment of a Ministry of Nomadic Affairs. Perhaps their next demand will be for the creation of a Nomadic state where only pastoralists will live.
“If the Federal Government is serious about ending banditry in this country, it should order the arrest and prosecution of leaders and members of Miyetti Allah groups. They have questions to answer regarding the armed herdsmen who have taken over the country’s forests and have been attacking innocent Nigerians…”