Probe bombing of herders in Nasarawa – Middle Belt to FG

The Middle Belt Forum, MBF, has called on the Federal Government to immediately set up an independent panel to ascertain the culprits of the Nasarawa bombing of herders and their cattle.

A statement issued on Sunday and made available to Track News by the forum’s national president, Dr Pogu Bitrus, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the killings of unarmed and defenceless citizens in various states of the Middle Belt in the interest of justice and fairness.

According to the statement: “Governor Ortom’s traducers must desist henceforth from accusing him falsely on a matter he is not involved as he remains the leader of Benue State who is not willing to let down his resolve in standing up for the democratic rights of his people in particular, and Nigerians in general.”

The statement added: “Since the incident, there have been conflicting reports on what actually transpired. Governor Abdullahi Audu Sule of Nasarawa declared on Thursday, January 26, that the herdsmen were killed through what looked like a drone attack. The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) said since the military was the only authority to deploy drone attacks, the Federal Government should wade into the matter to bring the culprits to book.”

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The forum explained that it was aware that the Nigerian Air Force undertook an operation against terrorist targets in areas bordering Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba in the same period, saying that there was no report of cattle casualties mentioned in any of the reports in spite of the claim that the victims are Fulani who just redeemed their cattle from Benue State Government.

Amidst the confusion that trailed these killings, the Middle Belt Forum lamented that the deposed emir of Kano, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, recently added what it described as “fuel to the raging inferno” when he accused the Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, as the architect of the killings.

The forum noted with concerns last Thursday’s announcement by Governor Ortom that there were premeditated plots by some highly-placed persons to assassinate him over the recent killings of herdsmen in Nasarawa State and cautioned against inflammatory statements over security matters, assuring that Benue State is not involved in the alleged killings.

As the umbrella body of ethnic nationalities in the Middle Belt, the forum explained that it is at a loss why the Nasarawa governor would just allege such a grievous crime without any proof to buttress his claim, stressing that while the MBF is opposed to any form of extra-judicial killing, it is shocked at the statement by the deposed Kano emir attempting to indict Ortom on an issue that he (Sanusi) is not competent to speak on.

Th body observed that since the introduction of the anti-grazing law in Benue, there has been no love lost between Governor Ortom and supporters of what it called “murderous” herdsmen who have always seen the promulgation of the law as against them.

In the wake of the enactment of the law, MACBAN and other Fulani groups vowed to ensure the anti-grazing law remains ineffective.

“More worrisome, there have been sparks of violence among border communities between the two states that often culminated in the destruction of lives and property. All these orchestrated violence are aimed at weakening the resolve and commitment of the Benue State Government to implement the anti-grazing law described by the herders as obnoxious,” the statement added.

It stated that it found the inconsistent reports on the recent alleged killings of Nasarawa herdsmen as yet another ploy to indict Governor Ortom in a matter he is completely innocent of, explaining that for those who should know, deploying drone attacks is completely the responsibility of the Federal Government and there has been no shred of evidence to suggest that the Benue State Governor is involved in the alleged attack.