The three major socio-cultural groups in Benue State have asked Miyetti Allah Kauta Hore to count Benue State out of its proposed vigilante group across states of the federation.
The socio-cultural groups which include Mdzough U Tiv, Ochetoha K’Idoma and Omi Ny’Igede in a statement signed by CP Iorbee Ihagh (rtd), AVM Tony Adokwu (rtd) and Dr Ben Okpa, respectively, vowed to use available legal means to ensure the occupation agenda of the herdsmen in disguise does not operate in Benue.
The groups described the recent threat by Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore to drag Governor Samuel Ortom to the International Criminal Court of Justice over alleged abuse of rights and seizing of 25,000 cows belonging to their members as ridiculous and nauseating.
While urging the Fulani group to be ready to take all Benue people to court not only the governor, the Benue socio-cultural groups also accused Miyetti Allah of severally claiming responsibility for the killing of innocent Benue farmers in different media fora.
According to the groups, “The Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore National Secretary, Saleh Alhassan was quoted in an interview on Monday, August 30, 2022 saying ‘the Miyetti Allah is working on creating their own vigilante groups in order to protect their people from the attacks of state-owned security personnel’ and particularly cited the Benue and as socio-cultural organisations, we fully sanction the operation of the State Community Volunteer Guards created by governor Samuel Ortom for a peaceful coexistence between herders and pastoralists, so for us, no such evil intentioned vigilante by the Miyetti Allah will operate in the state.
“We must emphasize that Governor Ortom as a leader popularly elected has our total mandate and we are fully in support of every lawful initiative by his administration to tackle security challenges to bring about enduring peace in the state.”
The Benue groups lamented that Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore is known for its terror activities which it perpetrate with crass impunity and lawlessness and have continued to vehemently resist every lawful effort made by the government of Benue State under the leadership of Ortom to guarantee peace and security of lives and properties.
They also decried a situation where peasant farmers who had hitherto contributed immensely to making Benue the food basket of the nation can no longer go to their farms for fear of being killed in cold blood by members of the Fulani socio-cultural group.
“We hereby state irrevocably that the orgy of bloodletting in Benue by Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore will be vehemently resisted by our people using every available legal means. Miyetti Allah should not think they would blackmail, intimidate and victimize Governor Ortom and the rest of Benue people into silence about the unprovoked and coordinated killing of our people.
“Governor Ortom is fighting a just cause for our people and we are fully in solidarity with him and any attack on the Governor is attack on the entire Benue people who will never surrender their ancestral lands to herdsmen jihadists on a conquest agenda,” they said.
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