Middle Belt Christian forum backs Ortom, seeks Atiku’s support to end Benue killings
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Samuel Ortom and Atiku Abubakar
Middle Belt Christian Forum has commended Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State for his sustained clamour for justice, equity, and fairness.
The group in a communique listed challenges facing the middle belt most especially the people of Benue; Massive killings and maiming by Fulani herdsmen and inadequate humanitarian interventions for the Internally Displaced Person IDPs in various camps in the state. The staggering number of out-of-school children in Benue calls for serious concern.
The call was made yesterday in Jos the Plateau State capital after the forum’s emergency meeting at the TEKAN Headquarters.
The spokesman, Pastor Bitrus said Atiku and Ayu hasten to reconcile because Benue is only a PDP state but because Atiku is a traditional title holder in Benue, “Zege Mule u Tiv“ which translate in English “the shadow under which the Tiv people can seek refuge.” Hence Atiku, ought to be seen doing much to address or condemn the killings in the state as a leader, party presidential candidate and former vice president who is a father to all and understands the fabrics and intricacies of the nation.
The 3rd paragraph of the communique, further called on the Christian leaders in the Middle Belt to also make tangible moves to reconcile Ortom and Ayu because their fight has been a serious concern to the middle belters. Most of the comments being made by Ortom in recent times is due to the security challenges, leading to loss of countless lives and properties of innocent Benue citizens.
According to him, Ortom deserves commendation and not condemnation speaking aloud of eminent dangers that will breach the security in Nigeria since the killings is not only in Benue but also in many parts of the country like Kaduna, Plateau, Zamfara, Niger, Katsina, among others.
The Spokesperson said that people should see beyond how he presents whatever he is saying and look into the facts of what he is talking about in order to seek a collective and sustainable solution to the problem. He swiftly came up with an anti-open grazing law which is today being adopted by over 17 states in the federation in order to curtail further violence.
Finally, the group called on the federal government to bring perpetrators of the violence to justice in order to serve as strong deterrent to other criminals and bandits alike.
