…As Buhari condemns assault
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu, has ordered full-scale investigations into the circumstances surrounding the attack and reported attempt on the life of the governor of Benue State, Mr. Samuel Ortom, at his farm on the outskirts of Makurdi, on Saturday, March 20, 2021.
According to a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), CP Frank Mba, the IGP who condemned the incident, has equally directed the Commissioner of Police (CP), Benue State Command, to take adequate measures towards strengthening and improving security in the State.
While calling for calm, the IGP assured the people of Benue State and the country at large that the Force will continue to do its best in stabilizing the security situation in the country.
The IGP further reiterated that the Force will continue to work with relevant stakeholders to advance the fight against violent crimes and other criminal activities across the country.
Gunmen suspected to be herdsmen had, on Saturday, attacked Ortom at Tyo Mu along Makurdi/Gboko road in Makurdi Local Government Area.
Ortom, who described the gunmen as ‘herdsmen’, said about 15 of the attackers trailed him to the river bank where he was on foot.
The governor praised his security details that were just about six in number for responding quickly to the attack and repelled them promptly before providing cover for him to return to safety in his vehicle.
“My lawyer is going to make a petition against the leadership of MACBAN because they came out to target me and behind the scene, they are planning to eliminate me on my own land,” he said.
“If I can’t go to the farm as governor with entire security around me then who else can go to the farm? You can imagine the pains that we have here in Benue State.
“I appreciate the security personnel attached to me they were able to repel them and they could not have access to me,” Ortom stated.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has described the attack on Ortom as unacceptable.
He warned that the incident should not be politicised.
Buhari said an attack on any Nigerian was an attack on all Nigerians.
He welcomed the deployment of a high-level team of crack investigators in the State from the Police headquarters in Abuja.
The president called on the officers to fish out the perpetrators of the attack and bring them to justice.
A statement by a presidential aide, Garba Shehu, said: “In expressing his sympathies, and that of the government of the federation to Governor Ortom and all Benue indigenes, President Buhari said the unfortunate incident must not be politicized, reiterating that an attack on one Nigerian is an attack on all Nigerians.”
The president, therefore, directed the Police to undertake a thorough investigation into the incident involving the governor and into all such incidents affecting individuals and communities in the state.
Read him: “Let there be open and transparent investigation and whoever is linked to it should be caught and be made to face the law.”