Where were you when herdsmen were killing my people - Governor Ortom asks minister of defence

macfranc007 January 31, 2018 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Nigerian newspapers 24/7 Kess Ewubare

- Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state faults the minister of defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, for reportedly attributing herdsmen attacks in Benue and Taraba states to the anti-open grazing laws passed in those states

- He regrets that such comments could come from somebody who worked and retired from the army after attaining the rank of a general

- Soldiers raid militia spiritual leader's shrine, arrest chief priest

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state has told Nigeria’s minister of defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, that the people of the state will not surrender their land to foreign invaders.

Ortom made the statement in reaction to comments credited to the minister of defence that the killings in Benue and Taraba states were as a result of anti-open grazing laws.

Speaking in an interview with Vanguard published on Wednesday, January 31, the governor maintained that the minister’s comments were an indication he was part of the conspiracy against Benue state.

The governor queried where Mansur Dan-Ali was when the Benue attacks occurred, regretted that such comments could come from somebody who worked and retired from the army after attaining the rank of a general.

He said "Somebody who worked and retired from the army after attaining the rank of a General. This is someone who is a Minister, who is educated and has travelled far and wide round the globe. How could he say that?

"Honourable Minister of Defence, if you said that kind of a thing, where were you as the Minister of this country when herdsmen were carrying AK-47 and weapons higher than AK-47 and were going about killing my people and you want me to keep quiet? And I begin to wonder.

"The other day, the Federal Government came out with a pronouncement that it was ISIS, a terrorist group in West Africa that is attacking Benue people and on the other hand, I was told that the Minister said that we should accommodate foreigners.

"What a country? Foreigners come in without valid papers and they come to take over your land and you surrender it to them? Minister, I will not do that in Benue State, we will not surrender our land.”

The governor said people who are supposed to be assisting President Buhari were misinforming and misdirecting him instead of guiding him to do the right thing.

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Meanwhile, Troops of 707 Special Forces Brigade, Nigerian Army, on Monday, January 29, raided the shrine and suspected hideout of a notorious native doctor, Tordue Gber (Tiv Swem), who act as spiritual adviser to the wanted armed criminal militia at Tor-Dunga town, Katsina-Ala local government area of Benue state.

According to a statement sent to NAIJ.com by the director, army public relations, Brigadier-General Sani Kukasheka Usman, the troops succeeded in arresting Tiv Swem.

Tiv Swem is an ally of the wanted notorious criminal, Akwazar Terwase (alias Gana), a militia leader declared wanted by the security agencies and has been at large since 2016.

According to the army, preliminary investigation shows that Tiv Swem acts as spiritual counselor that provides Gana with “diabolical” powers and the shrine serves as hideout for wanted armed militia, meeting and planning point for operations and logistics base for the criminal armed militias that operate in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba states.

Victims of herdsmen killings buried in Benue state on NAIJ.com TV: