Fresh Killings: Rise Up In Self Defence – Ortom Charges Benue Indigenes
- As Fulani herdsmen kill 23 in fresh attacks
Following the gruesome murder of 23 persons in fresh attacks on two communities by invading Fulani herdsmen on Monday night, a devastated Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State on Tuesday directed his people to rise up to defend themselves forthwith.
Governor Ortom, who lamented the gruesome murder of 23 persons, stressed that it is increasingly clear that the people of the State can no longer wait for help from anywhere.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Nathaniel Ikyur said that no fewer than 15 people in Tiortyu in Tarka Local Government Area were brutally murdered while eight others were mowed down on Monday night by Fulani herdsmen who invaded Mbadwem in Guma Local Government Area of Benue state.
The statement added that scores of others were injured and are presently receiving treatment in unnamed hospital in the state.
A visibly angry Ortom said; “It is becoming increasingly glaring every day that my people are now an endangered specie. My people will have to rise up to the occasion to defend themselves and their heritage against the Fulani army of occupation.
“We are law abiding citizens. We have cried for help against these invaders but nothing is forthcoming. We are left alone and it looks like it is a deliberate strategy. “Now we have only one option; to defend ourselves or get extinct. This is a case for our survival.
“We have been accommodating of other people in our land but our hospitality is misconstrued as weakness. We are not a conquered people. We will never be. We are free born citizens of Nigeria,” Ortom declared.
The Benue State Governor however enjoined security operatives to do more in crime prevention and protection of lives and property in the land just as he urged the people to cooperate with security agencies to flush out the undesirable elements in the society.
Ortom assured that the state government will not shy away from its commitment to provide welfare and the security for the citizens.
