Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state and his equivalent in Nasarawa, Tanko Al-Makura, have contradicted each other on the location of killer herdsmen. Ortom had alleged that the marauding herdsmen, who recently killed at least 71 people in several communities in Benue, are based in neighbouring Nasarawa.
He specifically said they were camped in Tongua in the Awe area of Nasarawa. The governor made the assertion after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday. His meeting with the President was held behind closed doors. "As I talk to you they are in Tongua in Awe local government that is where these people are camped and coming to attack people,” Ortom said.
But Al-Makura said he was shocked by the Benue state governor’s claim.“I am really taken back. This statement is most unfortunate. I will like to use this opportunity to say that there is nothing like that whatsoever,” he said.“If anything, the Tonga that the governor is talking about in the Awe LGA is now the safe haven for displaced persons. As I speak with you today, there are more than three IDP camps in the Awe local government that cater to the number of people that have migrated from Benue to Nasarawa.
"To be specific, there are more than 7,000 people that are camped in Tonga. So, it is very ironical that a place that is supposed to be an area that has become a safe haven for IDPs can now be called militias camp.“In that case, the militia do not need to go as far as Benue. They have the prey within the vicinity of Tonga to attack. I think this is most unfortunate.
"With the efforts we, as a state, are making and collaborating and supporting the governor to find ways and means of solving this problem, that Nasarawa State can be identified as an area where some of these militants are coming from, is unfortunate.”
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