Reactions have continued to trail the Saturday attack on Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom by suspected Fulani militia on Benue.
The Peoples Democratic Party and Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike were outraged, calling on Nigerians to hold the APC led federal government and the President, Muhammadu Buhari responsible if anything untoward happens to the Benue governor.
In a statement titled, ‘PDP Condemns Attempt On Gov Ortom’s Life…Demands Arrest, Prosecution of Assailants,’ signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, in Abuja, the party demanded the immediate arrest of those responsible for the attack on the governor’s convoy.
The statement read in part, “The PDP vehemently condemns Saturday’s reckless attack and the assassination attempt on Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State by suspected bandits, reported to be killer herdsmen.
“The party calls on President Muhammadu Buhari to put machinery in motion by ordering an immediate manhunt, arrest and prosecution of the assailants and beef up security around the governor.
“The PDP expresses shock that the assailants trailed Governor Ortom and opened fire on him and his aides along Makurdi/Gboko road, in an attack that by every indication is aimed to assassinate the governor.
“Our party is worried that this brazen attempt at Governor Ortom’s life is coming on the heels of his outspokenness in exposing those allegedly behind the incessant attacks of communities in the state and demanding that the Federal Government live up to its responsibility on the protection of life and property in the state.”
Similarly, Rivers State Governor, Wike, condemned the attack on Ortom’s convoy, saying Nigeria could plunge into another civil war if his Benue State counterpart was assassinated.
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Wike also said the Buhari regime would be held responsible if Ortom was killed.
In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kelvin Ebiri, Wike said, “If you kill Ortom, then be prepared to bury Nigeria. If anything happens to Governor Ortom, the Federal Government will be held responsible and they should be prepared that there will be no more Nigeria.”
The APC had yet to respond to the PDP’s comments as of press time
Ortom had at a press conference, said the incident happened at Tyo Mu, along the Makurdi/Gboko Road, around noon when he was returning from his farm.
He said he was on his way to Makurdi, the Benue State capital, when about 15 gunmen ambushed and opened fire on his convoy but were repelled by his security men.
Ortom said he had previously gathered intelligence that Fulani herdsmen planned to capture him alive and kill him slowly.
He said, “You know today is Saturday and it’s normal as a farmer, I usually go to my farm, so I went to my farm along Gboko road. On our way back, we started hearing gunshots and we saw people dressed in black. From experience, we discovered that they were Fulani militias.
“A few days ago, the media were awash with a statement from MACBAN (Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria), who met in Yola, the same place they met in 2016 where they decided that they would take over Nigeria and that every other person is a slave. That was when they started infiltrating the entire country.”
