As outrage grows over the spiralling violence in Benue State, former Governor Samuel Ortom has accused his successor, Governor Hyacinth Alia, of playing politics with security and ignoring President Bola Tinubu’s roadmap for peace.
This comes as human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), slammed both federal and state governments for failing to prosecute arrested suspects linked to a series of deadly attacks.
Ortom, in a statement issued by his media aide, Terver Akase, made available to journalists in Makurdi, was reacting to a reference made by Alia, through his media aide, Kula Tersoo.
The governor’s media aide said “Under Ortom’s watch, Benue State recorded the highest number of internally displaced persons in its history, with over four million people displaced from their ancestral homes.
“This figure underscores the failure of reactive rhetoric without strategic support for security architecture.”
However, putting the record straight, the former governor said the same data of 1.5 million IDPs handed to Alia in 2023 remained the data he continued to use till date.
Ortom advised his predecessor and his team to stop playing games with the insecurity situation confronting the state.
“People are being killed like animals by armed herders. Trying to minimise the magnitude of the attacks by concealing casualty figures, and the number of displaced persons, and making the attacks appear as mere communal clashes or skirmishes will not help solve the problem.
“Since the killing of innocent Benue people by armed herders intensified under Alia, the governor has peddled varying narratives regarding the attacks.
“At one point, he says those on a killing spree in the state are foreigners and not Nigerians. In another instance, he claims the killings are reprisals because according to him, Benue people rustled Fulani cows and were selling in wheelbarrows.
“ In yet another case, the governor blames those he brands as ‘Abuja politicians’ as sponsors of the killings. His latest accusation was against clergymen in the state, whom he tagged as ‘religious bandits.’
“This clearly indicates that the governor either has no clue about what the security situation is or is deliberately trying to mislead the public,” Ortom said.
He advised the governor to adopt the security roadmap that the President crafted for him when he visited the state.
“It has been five days since the President visited and made very useful recommendations on addressing insecurity in the state, but the governor has apparently yet to begin implementing any of the recommendations,” Ortom added.
He also recommended that to fight the insecurity ravaging parts of Benue State, the governor should allow the 23 local government areas to take control of their resources, to enable them effectively mobilise security in their domains and also provide development for their people.
“Fortunately, allocations to the local governments, similar to those of the state government, have increased by 400 per cent since fuel subsidy was removed by Mr President in 2023 and the Supreme Court gave a landmark judgment granting full financial autonomy for local governments.
“The governor should obey the Supreme Court judgment and let the councils run their affairs.
“The 23 local governments have been lamenting; the Benue State House of Assembly has also passed resolutions repeatedly urging Alia to allow local governments to control their resources, but sadly, all such pleas and interventions have fallen on deaf ears,” Ortom said.
Falana, in a statement issued on Sunday and made available to The PUNCH, said “It is undoubtedly clear that the authorities have continued to treat suspected killers in Benue State like sacred cows.”
He called on the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Benue State, Mr Fidelis Mnyim, to immediately initiate the prosecution of all arrested suspects.
Falana expressed concern that no prosecution had followed the arrests of suspects in past attacks.
Citing official records, Falana pointed out that “on December 30, 2024, the Benue State Commissioner of Police, Mr Hassan Yabanet, announced that 273 suspects had been arrested in connection with capital offences, with 20 firearms and 51 rounds of ammunition also recovered.”
Similarly, he referenced a January 17, 2024, statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, who revealed that police uncovered an illegal weapons factory in the state.
According to him, during the January 11, 2024, raid, two suspects, Friday Aduduakambe and Iorwashima Iornyume, were arrested.
The police recovered nine locally fabricated pistols, an unfinished AK-47 rifle, gas cylinders, vise machines, a filing machine, and other tools used in arms manufacturing,” he said.
Falana further noted that Alia, on April 17, 2025, confirmed the arrest of three suspected herdsmen allegedly involved in an attack that killed 11 residents in Otobi, Otukpo Local Government Area.
He added that recently, on June 19, 2025, three suspected kidnappers were reportedly arrested by Community Volunteer Guards at Otukpo motor park while attempting to board a vehicle to Makurdi with ransom money obtained from their victims.
“From January to June 2025 alone, we have confirmed that scores of dangerous criminal suspects have been arrested by the Benue State Police Command.
“In particular, the police announced that not less than 43 suspected killers had been arrested in the past 10 days,” Falana said.
He lamented that despite the arrests, no concrete prosecutorial action had been taken.
He also criticised the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Christopher Musa, for allegedly blaming the people of Yelwata for sheltering the attackers, describing the statement as a “diversionary way of blaming the victims of official incompetence and negligence.”
Meanwhile, a socio-cultural group under the aegis of Alago Ikweyi Gbayi Development Union in Nasarawa State has appealed to the President to direct the National Boundary Commission to carry out a physical demarcation of the delineated boundary between Nasarawa and Benue states.
The group said the demarcation would help to tackle the persistent gunmen attacks that had continued unabated.
This was contained in a statement jointly signed by the President of AIGDU, Mohammed Oshafu and the Publicity Secretary of the association, Hassan Ozegya, and made available to journalists in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital on Sunday.
The appeal is coming on the heels of the statement made by the Tor Tiv, Prof James Ayatse, during Tinubu’s recent visit to Benue State over the attacks on Yelwata, a community that borders Nasarawa and Benue states.
The AIGDU’s President noted that the claim by the Tor Tiv that Tiv people were being oppressed in Nasarawa State, and the forceful taking of their lands was untrue.
He further noted that Yelwata is historically an Alago village which comprises Alago and Gwandara tribes, adding that the Tiv tribe later joined them in the community.
“The area is part and parcel of Keana Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. Apart from colonial and other modern-day records, recently Google maps also confirmed that Yelwata is in Nasarawa State, as originally demarcated.
“While this claim is not controversial, our position is not in support of the crisis and killings in our land that had peacefully welcomed all Nigerians and foreigners alike to settle peacefully and live together in harmony with our people,” he said.
The association further distanced itself from the claims and counter claims on the remote and immediate causes of the recent attacks on Yelwata, adding that all the skirmishes linked to the unfortunate incident which claimed several lives of innocent people were unknown to them.
The Gideon and Funmi Para-Mallam Peace Foundation is, however, seeking justice for the victims of the recent Benue killings, where over 200 people were brutally murdered in coordinated attacks.
One of the attack victims reportedly died at the weekend and was buried on Saturday.
The President of the foundation, Rev (Dr) Gideon Para-Mallam, who led a humanitarian intervention delegation to the community, condemned the attacks.
He narrated accounts from survivors, including the story of a young child whose head was hacked with a machete after being dragged from a burning building.
While addressing mourners during the burial of the victim, Dr Para-Mallam reiterated the foundation’s commitment to advocacy and peacebuilding.
“We will not be silent. We will demand accountability. Forgiveness is not weakness — it is strength — but justice must be served,” he said.
The Foundation donated 50 bags of 50kg rice, five bags of beans, several clothing items, and a cash gift of N1m to support the affected families.
PUNCH.
