From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
The three main socio-cultural groups in Benue State; Mdzough U Tiv, MUT, Ochetoha K’ Idoma and Omi Ny’Igede have called on the federal government to ensure that the arrested Biafran liberation fighter, Nnamdi Kanu is justly and fairly tried.
They made the call on Friday, the Benue leaders, in a statement jointly signed by President General of Mzough-U-Tiv, Chief Iorbee Ihagh (CP rtd), President General, Ochetoha K’ Idoma,
AVM Tony Adokwu (rtd) and President General, Omi Ny’Igede, Dr Ben Okpa.
Reacting to the arrest of the leader of the the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the Benue tribal leaders while commending the federal government for the feat however urged it to arrest leaders of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore (MAKH) for the attacks on Benue which las left over one million people in internally displaced persons camps.
They noted that if this is done, the federal government would have been able to convince Nigerians and indeed, the International community that it is not partial.
“It has become imperative to address you on this day on issues concerning the security of our dear country Nigeria and Benue State in particular.
“It is already in the public domain that the leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu was recently rearrested by the Federal Government and brought back into the country to face prosecution.
“We commend the Federal Government for its efforts which led to the arrest of Kanu and it is our belief that government will ensure justice in this matter for the good of our country.
“As we commend the Federal Government for this feat as part of efforts to address insecurity in our great country, we wish to draw the attention of the FG to another security challenge that portends great danger to food and national security – the activities of militia herdsmen and their sponsors.
“We wish to place on record that in Benue State in particular and Nigeria in general, militia herdsmen under the guise of grazing their cattle, have visited mayhem on farmers leading to killings and displacement of thousands from their ancestral homes with farmlands no longer accessible. Hundreds have been orphaned and wives widowed.
They lamented that peasant farmers who had hitherto, contributed to making Benue Food Basket of the Nation can no longer go to their farms for fear of being killed, stressing that the hunger in the land is now so unimaginable.
“We are deeply concerned and worried that the FG has refused to look inwards by arresting leaders of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore and other violent Fulani groups who openly threaten and carry out attacks on communities in Benue and other states of this country without any form of resistance.
“If the same energy expended in arresting Nnamdi Kanu can’t be applied to arrest ‘terrorists’ who are freely walking on the streets of Abuja and other cities of Nigeria, then it is questionable.
“It is public knowledge that the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari in a recent address, alluded to the fact that foreign herdsmen are living inside forests across Nigeria and are responsible for the banditry and other terrorist activities in the country.
“Incidentally, these people have known links that speak out when some of the attacks are carried out. Unfortunately, they have never been invited for questioning by security agencies. What a fight against insecurity.
“We wish to state unequivocally that in Benue State, militia herdsmen are 95 percent behind insecurity and hunger. They threaten, attack and claim responsibility for the killings. We wonder why the FG turns a deaf ear to such insolence.
What a selective justice!
“It is our firm belief that in Benue State, anytime the FG decides that our people should go back to their farms to continue with their farming activities, decisive steps will be taken, chief of which is to arrest of the masterminds of attacks on our people and to ask herdsmen to stay away from our state or better still, embrace ranching as the global best practice of animals husbandry,” the statement concluded.