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Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom. Photo/facebook/Benuestategovernment
The Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, also known as Miyetti Allah, has dragged Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State before the International Criminal Court (ICC), Hague, over the alleged seizure of cows.
The National Secretary-General of the Fulani socio-cultural group, Saleh Alhassan, stated this while reacting to the inauguration of the state’s Community Volunteer Guards.
In a statement on Friday, Alhassan said Governor Ortom will face justice for allegedly seizing over 25,000 cows belonging to members of the group and detaining over 4,000 herders.
The Miyetti Allah alleged that the Benue governor has violated the rights of Fulani herders in his state, adding that Ortom was known for seizing cows belonging to Fulani herders.
He said: “He (Ortom) would go to Benue and Taraba states border communities and seize cows, making our members suffer. We don’t have herders in Benue. So, the livestock that he seized shows that he is part of the problem.
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“He is destroying the economy of our people in the border states. We have raised that issue, prepared our documents and sued him before the International Criminal Court in Hague.
“We sued him for stealing our cattle in Nasarawa and Taraba border communities and for also detaining our innocent youths and dumping them in his dungeon because he is a governor.
“He is not arresting herders for violating anti-open grazing law because there are no herders in Benue. The law which he assented to in his state Assembly stated that for a herder to function, there must be a ranch.
“Ortom has failed to provide a ranch for us. Let him finish all this wickedness. He will still leave and the herders in Nigeria will continue to exist, prosper and be better.”
Alhassan described Ortom as a failure, stressing that the Benue governor doesn’t have any developmental achievements to show after being in office for eight years.
He said: “I just pity the innocent people of Benue State. We have asked these people to investigate and probe the quantum amounts of security votes he (Ortom) has diverted from the state.
“He is a total failure and has seen failure staring at him in the face. After almost eight years, what are the developmental achievements he can present?
“We have stopped taking him seriously with regards to governance. We are taking a number of legal actions against him. We have also written to the President (Muhammadu Buhari) for compensation.”
