The Middle Belt Forum (MBF) has berated Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule for declaring that his Benue State counterpart, Samuel Ortom was the mastermind of the killing of persons suspected to be terrorists in Akwanaja, Doma Local Government Area (LGA) of Nasarawa.

The MBF National President, Dr Pogu Bitrus rebuked the Nasarawa state governor in a statement he signed and made available to newsmen in Makurdi on Sunday, insisting that the former Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi was not competent to speak on such delicate issues.

The MBF also urged the Federal Government (FG) to investigate the allegations levelled against Governor Ortom and also produce pictorial evidence of the persons and cattle killed during the drone strike.

According to Bitrus, “As the umbrella body of ethnic nationalities in the Middle Belt, the Forum is at a loss why the Nasarawa governor would allege such a grievous crime without any proof to buttress his claim.

“While the MBF is opposed to any form of extra-judicial killing, we are shocked at the statement by the Kano deposed emir attempting to rope Dr Ortom on an issue that he (Sanusi) is not competent to speak on.

“We find the inconsistent reports on the recent alleged killings of Nasarawa herdsmen as yet another ploy to rope Governor Ortom into a matter he is completely innocent of.

“For those who should know, deploying drone attacks is completely the responsibility of the FG. There has been no shred of evidence to suggest that the Benue State Governor is involved in the alleged attack.

“We completely disagree with the deposed Kano emir who is reputed to possess a penchant for inflammatory statements and even actions in the past, especially the murderous incident during the General Sani Abacha regime.

“The MBF calls on him (Sanusi) to exercise caution and desist from doing anything that is capable of undermining the peaceful co-existence of Nigerians. He should allow the security agencies to do their jobs and stop fueling crises where there is none.

“It becomes contemptible when those who are expected to moderate their views before members of the public and promote the peaceful co-existence of communities are the same people inflaming passion in a bid to enthrone chaos and anarchy in the country," he said.

Therefore, “The MBF calls on the FG to set up an independent probe of the Nasarawa killings with photos and pictures of the slain herders and also their cattle as bombs don’t discriminate so as to ascertain the claims by the Nasarawa state governor and others alike.

“We also call on President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the killings of unarmed and defenceless citizens in various states of the Middle Belt Region in the interest of justice and fair play.

“For equity and justice to hold sway, Nigerian leaders must learn to treat all citizens across political, ethnic and religious divides. We must eschew enthroning the supremacy of one ethnic nationality over others if we ever hope to build a just nation for all.

“Governor Ortom’s traducers must desist henceforth from accusing him falsely on a matter he is not involved as he remains the leader of Benue State who is not willing to let down his resolve in standing up for the democratic rights of his people in particular, and Nigerians in general," he added.

Bitrus further pointed out that “Since the introduction of the anti-grazing law in Benue, there has been no love lost between Governor Ortom and supporters of murderous herdsmen who have always seen the promulgation of the law as targeted against them.

“In the wake of the enactment of the law, MACBAN and other Fulani groups vowed to ensure the anti-grazing law remains ineffective.

“More worrisome, there have been sparks of violence among border communities between the two states that often culminated into the destruction of lives and property.

“All these orchestrated violence are aimed at weakening the resolve and commitment of the Benue State Government to implement the anti-grazing law described by the herders as obnoxious,” he alleged.(Daily Independent)

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