Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom on Wednesday said Fulani herdsmen terrorising his state had displaced over 1.5 million Benue citizens from their ancestral land.
According to him, this follows various attacks the citizens have suffered at the hands of the herdsmen in their various communities.
Ortom has been in a war of words with the presidency over how President Muhammadu Buhari had kept mum over various havoc by the Fulani herdsmen.
Speaking during a press conference in Makurdi, the governor alleged that Miyetti Allah had vowed not to stop attacks on Benue people until he reverses the anti-open grazing law it enacted in 2017.
He said, “I watched with dismay yesterday the utterance of Myetti Allah, an association confronting the government. It is not just the state government that they are after, they are also confronting the Federal Government.
“But unfortunately, the presidency will not come out to condemn or say anything concerning what the Miyetti Allah has said because it is part of them.
“It is unfortunate, our people are dying, we have over 1.5 million Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, in Benue State and Miyetti Allah are coming out to claim responsibility for the killings and the pains that our people are going through. Then you will be telling me to keep quiet and not talk about it?
“Miyetti Allah has come out to say that if we don’t repeal our law, we will not know peace. Where are the security men? Where is the Federal Government? Why are they not arresting this killer group?
“This evil agenda that the Miyetti Allah has in collaboration with the Federal Government is not accepted. I commend the security agencies in Benue State, you have been doing your best in the state.”