Herdsmen Attacked My Village, Killed Over 50 Persons and Destroyed Over 200 Hectares of My Rice Farm – Benue Governor, Samuel Ortom

Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom on Thursday disclosed that herdsmen attacked his country home, killing 50 and destroying his 200 hectares rice farm, Vanguard reports.

The governor said this when he received the All Progressives Congress’ (APC), Governors’ Forum, led by Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State. The governors paid him a condolence visit over the invasion of Agatu community and other parts of the state attacked by the herdsmen.

“The mercenaries invaded my village, killed over 50 persons and destroyed over 200 hectares of my rice farm. As I am sitting here, I have no ancestral home. They killed children, old men and women in my community.

The mercenaries come to Benue not just to graze but to steal, kill and destroy the livelihood of the agrarian people, after which they take possession of the land knowing full well that all we have here are our farms.

These attacks have brought a major setback to the people, especially with our declining revenue from the federal allocation, which was about N7 billion before I assumed office. But this month stood at N1.3 billion, while our monthly wage bill stands at close to N4 billion,” Ortom said.

Ortom who advocated for the creation of ranches, lamented the fact that there have not been any arrest even after the deployment of security personnel to the state under the order of President Buhari.

He said that the Fulani herdsmen and the Benue people have existed in harmony for years, until about four years ago when the crises started.