Chairman of Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Barrister Clement Omenkannaya Odah, on Thursday accused the Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom of complicity in the lingering boundary war between Ebonyi and Benue states, which has claimed many lives seen land properties worth millions of naira destroyed

The council boss made the accusation in Abakaliki while challenging Ortom to make good his seven days ultimatum issued on May 10 to the Agila to produce the killers of four Ngbo (Ebonyi) people on the 1st of May.

Odah maintained that both Ortom and Ado Local Government Area Chairman of Benue State have not shown genuine commitment like their Ebonyi State counterparts to ensure that peace returned to the warring communities. He disclosed that he had bankrolled the logistics of several inter-state meetings held between the two council areas

His words: “I must say that the Benue people have not tried as much as ourselves. There is a missing line. If the governor of Benue state has done as much as our governor has done in terms of commitment, by now, this matter would have been a foregone issue.

“The Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State most of the times has visited the worn torn communities to ascertain for himself, assess and evaluate the level of the degree of injury inflicted on our people. The state government has been touched and their commitment to ensure that peace returned to this area is unraveled. Like I said unfortunately, the Benue state government has not shown a lot of commitments.

“Recently, we heard that the governor has given seven day ultimatum to produce the killers of the four persons who were butchered on May 1st. We have the expectations that this ultimatum is coming in good faith. If it is coming in good faith, we expect the governor to go a step further. Should the Agila people fail to produce the killers of our people, we expect something more than mere rhetorics.

“The Benue State Government if they are serious should be able to identify the Agila people who are working against the peace in this inter-state boundary areas and we expect sanctions, something beyond mere rhetorics. Seven days is counting and I believe very soon, it will be exhausted.

“We are keen to see what the Benue State Government will do to saboteurs and enemies of peace to Agila. The Benue State Government to a large extent should tell us how faithful, how committed and how genuine the Benue State Government is to peace.”

Governor Ortom had handed down a seven-day ultimatum to rural communities in Ado LGA bordering Ebonyi State – which elapsed on May 17 – to produce for prosecution murderers, who allegedly ambushed and beheaded four persons of Ebonyi origin.

Update news