From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
The Benue State Government has raised alarm over renewed attacks by suspected herdsmen on some communities in the state, with attendant loss of lives and property.
Senior Special Assistant to Governor Samuel Ortom on Animal Husbandry Alhaji Shehu Tambaya, who raised the alarm in a chat with reporters on Wednesday, lamented the recent attacks on some communities in Guma and Gwer West local government areas of the state in which several persons were reportedly killed and others injured.
While noting that it was for the sake of peace that the state government enacted the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, Tambaya warned all criminally minded herdsmen who are not ready to obey the law to seek solace in other states rather than coming to cause trouble in Benue.
‘One wonders why some people would just come into a state which has a law in place with the sole aim to cause trouble. We have said it over and over again that whoever does not want to obey the Benue’s law should seek solace elsewhere,’ Tambaya stated.
He further vowed that anyone caught flouting the Benue’s grazing law would not be spared as the long arm of the law would catch up with such a person.
The governor’s aide also commended security agencies who have been collaborating with the state government to ensure peace in the state even as he urged them not to rest on their oars but go after the attackers.