Prioritise Peace, Not Lawsuits, Tiv Group Tells Governor Sule

A Tiv socio-cultural group, Mdzough U Tiv, has endorsed the views expressed by Prof. Zachary Gundu, stating that the attackers of Benue State are harboured in Nasarawa State.

it asked the state’s chief security officer, Governor Abdullahi Sule, to prioritise peace and reconciliation with neighbouring communities rather than resorting to lawsuits against concerned citizens.

The group has also dragged the Nasarawa State government to court for taking over Tiv farmlands, particularly for project construction that is instead re-allocated to strangers, after a series of requests for intervention to relevant authorities, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly.

The president-general of Mdzough U Tiv Chief Iorbee Ihagh, who made the group’s views known in a statement co-signed by the chairman and Secretary of the group, expressed the willingness that the group should be joined in the anticipated suit of your instructions.

He said, “We believe that the views of the University were not directed at your person but to the office and institution of the Governor, as cited previously to Former Governor Al-Makura’s tenure.

He said, “The issues of the state hosting insurgents are verifiable and in the public domain. It is a calamity that predates the Abdullahi Sule Administration, which has raised regional and interstate concerns. Governor Sule had personally raised concerns about the presence of kidnappers’ dens in Nasarawa communities and called for federal government intervention to fish them out.

“He cannot in any way deny knowledge of their presence in a state they use as their station to attack surrounding states. This matter is available in various intelligence sources, both formal and informal. It has been corroborated by the Plateau and Kogi State governments, as has been peddled by sociocultural organisations and civil society, such as the Middle Belt Organisation and local vigilante groups.

“Therefore, the views expressed by Prof. Gundu remain authentic and verifiable in the public domain because the incessant invasions are recurring attacks specifically targeted against Tiv communities, mostly occurring on the border lines between Nassarawa and Benue States, where attackers retreat to Nassarawa State.

He maintained that some of the arrested criminals of the recent Yelewata attacks revealed the identity of the attackers from hideouts within Nassarawa State, who are involved in the menace of massive killings and

destruction of property.

“There is nothing defamatory and libellous in the context of the public presentation made by the erudite scholar because the public discourse in particular is enforced with perceived evidence of persisting insurgencies targeting the Tiv indigenes of Nasarawa State, who are currently displaced into IDP camps in Benue State. “These protracted attacks are mostly emboldened by claims of the government taking over Tiv farmlands, particularly for project construction that is instead reallocated to strangers.

“We equally request your press secretary to be more civil in his public engagement on your behalf to safeguard your hard earned reputation with the mandate you occupy as governor of Nassarawa State, however, I want to let you know that we are not opposed to your liberties of a court action which we believe will reveal more about the Tiv peculiar challenges under your supervision.

“We are very disturbed by the trending persecution of the Tiv people, who are your huge political supporters base, both in your election and reelection, but have suffered neglect and marginalisation all through. Your refusal to integrate them in the mainstream of your administration, as your predecessors did, is a complete deviation from the sustainable equation”