Benue massacre: I’ve told my people to defend themselves — Ortom

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has described as barbaric and horrendous, last Sunday’s gruesome murder of farmers in Igama community Edumoga, Okpokwu Local Government Area, LGA, of the state by suspected armed herdsmen, warning that the people of the state may resort to self-help if the authorities refused to protect them.

The Governor who insisted that the people of Benue State are not cowards and are law abiding, declared that even the laws of the land allow for self defence.

Recall that suspected armed herders had invaded Edumoga community Sunday morning while the victims were preparing for church service, leaving no fewer than 15 persons dead while all the houses in the community were set ablaze.

Reacting yesterday in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Nathaniel Ikyur, Governor Ortom who condemned the dastardly act, described the murderers as “cowards and criminals who must be fished out and prosecuted without delay.”

According to him “when I started shouting about the menace of killer herdsmen in my state, many people thought l was playing to the gallery. Gradually, this has spread to all other parts of the country because the federal government has refused to act appropriately and decisively against them.

“This is the reason they have continued with impunity. It has clearly shown that the killing of these innocent farmers in Edumoga, Okpokwu LGA is yet another barbaric act by Fulani herdsmen. They must not go unpunished.”

The governor reiterated his earlier call on people of the state to defend themselves against the invaders saying “even the laws of the land allow for self defence. We are capable of defending ourselves if the authorities concerned refused to do so. We are not cowards, but law abiding.”

The governor cautioned that the peaceful attitude of Benue people who accommodate others should not be taken for granted, stressing that the law must take its course to apprehend the criminal elements no matter how long it took even as he urged his people to remain law abiding.