…Petitions Benue CP, DSS Director
FORMER Police Commissioner, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav has said Governor Samuel Ortom is to blame for the recent attacks in Agatu Local Government of Benue State, while calling for the setting up of judicial panel of enquiry to unravel how over 300 persons lost their lives in the process.
He told National Daily on telephone that the governor had not displayed enough transparency and capacity in handling the crisis while also blaming Ortom for being too quick to claim success in the so called amnesty programme of the State.
Tsav wondered how the governor could have been talking of amnesty when the combatants have not been disarmed and their weapons retrieved as was done in the case of ex-militants in the Niger Delta region.
Said he: “I think the matter is being mishandled by the governor. It is not enough to want to be addressed as Your Excellency. You must show capacity and willingness to get to the root of any problem. Unless you are honest, has the fear of God and does not take sides, you cannot solve the problem. The conflict will persist.”
The former Lagos police boss revealed that he had formally written to the Benue State Police Commissioner, Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) and the State Director of DSS providing insights on what is going on and how to stem it.
ALSO SEE: Gov. Ortom decries renewed farmers, herdsmen clash
He condemned the practice whereby militias are allowed to keep their weapons, thereby frustrating the work of the civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) comprising of farmers and identified leaders of the herdsmen.
“You can talk of amnesty when effective disarmament is in place. When you have retrieved arms. You need to set up a panel to find out how hundreds were killed. That’s the fundamental thing to do”, he added.
Suspected Fulani herdsmen had invaded Agatu, reportedly killing over 300, destroying property worth millions of naira and sacking whole communities.
Some the affected villages include Okokolo, Akwu, Ocholonya, Adagbo, Ugboku and Aila, which were completely burnt down by the attackers.
Several communities including Obagaji, the local government headquarters, where people usually took refuge in the past, have reportedly been deserted.
Governor Ortom midweek similarly stormed Aso Rock Presidential Villa to seek urgent intervention of the Federal Government although it was not confirmed if a clear directive was given to curb a reoccurrence of the menace.
Meanwhile, Opiatoha K’Idoma, a socio-cultural organisation of Idoma sons and daughters, have called on the federal government to put an end to the endless crisis in the area.
According to the group, “What we see happening in Agatu today can be likened to happenings in the North-East and we call for urgent action by the Federal Government..