By Moses Okorie
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has blasted his Bauchi State counterpart, Bala Mohammed, on his comment supporting Fulani herdsmen to carry weapons in order to protect themselves and their cows from attacks by cattle rustlers. Ortom said that will not be tolerated in Benue and perpetrators would be apprehended.
Governor Ortom stated this during a press conference in Makurdi, the state capital, recently, where he queried Mohammed saying that Benue is not a ‘banana republic’, and those who must live in Benue must obey the law of the land.
“Bala Mohammed, my brother, that is not how to run government; bringing a lot of disunity. Maybe he does not have time to see the castigation he received from Nigerians, when he insisted that Fulani should carry AK47 and can live anywhere. Nigeria is not governed anyhow; it is not a banana republic, it is governed by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Our constitution gives powers to all the governors in all the states to preside over the land of their states on behalf of their people, and they are the only people who can give allocations and permit people to stay where they are. And so, bandits cannot find a forest and come in to hide under living in that forest.
Respect Benue Laws Or Go To Bauchi And Carry AK-7, Ortom Tells Herdsmen pic.twitter.com/Dch1sFSzRQ
— Channels Television (@channelstv) February 22, 2021
“I want to tell those terrorist Fulani men, they should not come to Benue, they should go to Bauchi and stay with him. Benue State is governed by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Benue state also has laws guiding them.
“So anybody, when you are a Fulani man and you come with a genuine paper, you are free to stay in Benue State and do business according to the laws of our land. Anybody who is not willing to obey the laws of our land should go and meet Bala Mohammed, then, there you can carry AK-47 and will not be apprehended. Here, when you carry it, we apprehend you”, Ortom said.