The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, on Wednesday, reiterated his call to the people of the state to stop crying over herdsmen invasion but to take up arms to confront the invading herders.
The governor also fumed over the situation where the killer herders take shelter in a neighbouring state and use such a place as a launchpad.
Ortom stated this in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Nathaniel Ikyur, while reacting to the killing of his kinsmen by herders at Tse Ahentse in the Guma Local Government Area of the state, on Tuesday.
The Chairman of Guma Local Government Area, Caleb Aba, had confirmed the killing of five people at Tse Ahentse by suspected herdsmen, while the State Police Command through the PPRO, Catherine Anene, claimed that four people were killed.
Ortom, who hails from the local government, called on the Federal Government to synergise with his administration and step up military operations that will flush out armed herdsmen from neighbouring states bordering Benue.
Ortom said that it will help to end the invasion of Benue communities by killer herdsmen who have continued to use the porous nature of the state borders to invade hapless communities on the Benue side of the border.
He said, “It is time to end this unnecessary shedding of innocent blood. We can do it if we cooperate with each other.
“The situation where killer herdsmen take shelter with our neighbours, sneak in and kill our people without provocation will not be tolerated any longer.
He called on the security agencies to continue to cooperate with the people of the state to end what he described as ‘bloodletting’.
“Let us dislodge these invaders from wherever they may be hiding for peace to return to our communities.”
While commending security agencies for their steadfastness and commitment to ending the crises, Ortom called on Benue people to begin to arm themselves with “lawful weapons as prescribed by law and defend themselves against the Fulani invaders.”
The governor said, “It is no longer fashionable to continue to cry out for help. We must now be alert and ready to confront these killers. This is another way we can assist the security agencies in combating this menace since they are obviously overstretched beyond limits.”
