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Herdsmen attack: My home town, 200 hectares of rice farm gone, Gov Ortom laments

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Just 1yr in office, EFCC probes Gov Ortom over N4.29bn transfer

It was lamentation galore on Thursday, when the APC Governors Forum paid a visit to Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, as he bemoaned the activities of Fulani herdsmen in the state.

According to the governor, his country home has been sacked by Fulani mercenaries, who he said killed over 50 of his kinsmen with over 200 hectares of his rice farm razed.

The APC governors, who were led by Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, were in the state on a condolence visit to Ortom over the invasion of Agatu and other parts of the Benue State by Fulani herdsmen.

Ortom, who lamented the incessant killings and destruction of lives and property in the state, said the situation had created a 25 year retrogression of development in the state.

“The mercenaries invaded my village, killed over 50 persons and destroyed over 200 hectares of my rice farm. As I am sitting here, I have no ancestral home. They killed children, old men and women in my community.

Read also: Buratai says herdsmen likely affiliated to Boko Haram

“The mercenaries come to Benue not just to graze but to steal, kill and destroy the livelihood of the agrarian people, after which they take possession of the land knowing full well that all we have here are our farms.

“These attacks have brought a major setback to the people, especially with our declining revenue from the federal allocation, which was about N7 billion before I assumed office. But this month stood at N1.3 billion, while our monthly wage bill stands at close to N4 billion”, Ortom said.

According to him, security agencies ordered to the state by President Muhammadu Buhari are yet to apprehend been able to apprehend those behind the attacks.

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