Attack on Gov Ortom

The recent attack on Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State by some gunmen is as shocking as it is condemnable. The gunmen reportedly opened sporadic gunfire on the governor while he was inspecting his farm located at Tyo-Mu community, less than 20 kilometres from Makurdi, the state capital. Good enough, his security aides swiftly repelled the attack while he had to run over 1.5 kilometres to escape the ambush. The Fulani Nationality Movement (FUNAM) has claimed responsibility and boasted that Ortom would not escape the group next time.

This is not the first time a governor would be attacked in the country. At least thrice last year, some Boko Haram elements attacked the convoy of Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum. One of the deadly attacks occurred near Baga town on the shores of Lake Chad. The terrorists had planted multiple improvised explosive devices on the road. The explosion that later occurred claimed the lives of at least 18 people, including soldiers and policemen. The governor narrowly escaped death.

Barely 48 hours after this attack, insurgents also laid ambush and attacked Zulum’s convoy on Monguno-Maiduguri axis. Luckily, there was no casualty. Earlier in July 2020, the same Boko Haram terrorists had ambushed and attacked the governor’s convoy on his way to Baga town and Monguno in Borno State to distribute food to internally displaced persons (IDPs).   

The recent attack on Ortom was not surprising. He has not hidden his opposition to open grazing, which is a major factor in the clashes between herders and farmers in Benue State and other parts of the country. Benue State is one of the states that have legislated against open grazing in Nigeria as it has suffered most of the attacks on farmers by herders.  Beyond condemnations and the rhetoric to bring the perpetrators of such attacks to book, nothing much has happened to punish the marauders.

The same trend has followed the attack on Governor Ortom. President Muhammadu Buhari was among the first to condemn it. In a statement, his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said the President had ordered open and transparent investigation into the incident. Whoever was linked with the attack, the President added, should be made to face the law.

The governors also condemned the attack. In a statement, the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) said the attempt to make Benue State ungovernable would fail woefully. The Forum empathised with the governor and the people of Benue State on the dastardly and cowardly act.

While also condemning the attack, the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, ordered extensive investigations into the circumstances surrounding it. The IGP was said to have ordered immediate deployment of a team of specialised investigators from the Force Criminal Investigations Department (FCID), Abuja, to Benue to help in the investigations.

Inasmuch as we join other eminent Nigerians to call for a probe of the incident, we advise that the probe should be thorough and the group that claimed responsibility for the attack should also be investigated. As the president said, the probe must be open and transparent. And if members of this boastful organisation are found to be culpable in any way, they must be made to face the full wrath of the law. 

If a governor can be so attacked, the fate of ordinary Nigerians is better imagined. It underscores the need to tackle insecurity in the country and ensure that every Nigerian is protected according to Section 14 (2) (b) of the 1999 Constitution which stipulates that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”

Therefore, it has become imperative to begin the implementation of state police which many Nigerians had clamoured for. A situation where governors sit as the chief security officers of their states but cannot control the police in their states is anomalous. If the governors opt for self-help, anarchy may set it and Nigeria will not be the same again.

No doubt, the upsurge in banditry and other criminal activities may have overwhelmed the security agencies. With less than 400,000 personnel, the Nigerian Police Force falls short of the United Nations recommendation of 1:400 police-to-person ratio. We must maximise this small number by deploying them where they are mostly needed.  The Federal Government should equip the police with sophisticated weapons to enable them combat the rising criminality in the country. 

The police authorities must also be serious in mopping up illegal firearms in the country. Not quite long ago, the IGP had ordered the mopping up of these prohibited firearms but nothing much came out of it. Ironically, the rate of the proliferation of these illegal arms has even risen.

In all, it would have been disastrous if Governor Ortom had died in the attack. There is urgent need to increase security around him just like Zulum of Borno. We urge that an advance party should survey any place he is going before he embarks on such a journey.  This is the time the Federal Government should heed the call for the restructuring of the country as a way of ensuring its continued corporate existence.