President Muhammadu Buhari on
Monday said that government was deeply worried about the incessant attacks on
Benue’s rural communities, and vowed to end the menace “very soon”.
Buhari, who met with farmers,
herdsmen, government officials and other stakeholders in Makurdi, denied
insinuations that he was not interested in what was happening to the
north-central state.
“I cannot overlook the killings
in Benue or any other part of Nigeria. I cannot do that. I am genuinely worried
about the attacks in Benue and we are doing everything to end them,” he said.
He said that the insecurity in
some states was a major concern to his government, adding that concerted
efforts were being made to restore normalcy to every part of the country.
Buhari said that he was surprised
at the revelation that the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, did not
spend 24 hours in Benue, when he directed him to relocate to the state and
remain there till peace was restored.
“I am getting to know this in
this meeting. I am quite surprised,” he said.
He, however, said that the
meeting was not the best place to expose the inefficiency of his appointees,
and appealed to Benue people to exercise restraint and live in peace with their
neighbours.
Buhari appealed to the people to
pay more attention to farming, especially rice cultivation, saying that rice
importation had dropped by 90 per cent since some states embarked on massive
production of the commodity.
Speaking earlier, Gov Samuel
Ortom appealed to the President to upgrade the ongoing military exercise in the
state tagged “Ayem Akpatema”, to a wider operation to effectively curb herdsmen
attacks.
“If the exercise is upgraded to a
wider operation, it will assist greatly in ending the incessant attacks and
senseless killings by herdsmen,” he said
He urged Benue people to learn to
live in peace with other people.
Ortom said that many states were
currently involved in massive cultivation of rice, and urged his people to join
the trend.
The governor reiterated his call
for the arrest of the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, alleging that
the body was responsible for the killings in Benue.
Ortom maintained that ranching
was the best option for cattle breeding in Nigeria, and advised herdsmen to
embrace it so as to minimise the clashes caused by open grazing.
He also called on the federal
government to take over the management of the Benue University Teaching
Hospital, College of Education, Katsina-Ala and Benue Polytechnic, Ugbokolo.
Malam Shetima Mohammed, a
representative of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria
(MACBAN), Benue Chapter, however, denied responsibility for the Benue attacks.
“Our association is a peace
loving one and the exact opposite of what is being portrayed,” he declared.
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