*Ortom Knocks Alia, Urges Him To Allow LGs Manage Their Allocations
*Falana Laments Non-Prosecution Of Arrested Suspects
JOINT security operatives in Benue State have arrested some suspects in connection to recent attacks in Yelwata area of the state that resulted in the killing of over 200 persons by the attackers, suspected to be armed Fulani herdsmen.
The state Commissioner of Police, Emenari Ifeanyi, announced the development at a press briefing on Sunday, June 22, but did not disclose the identity or number of the suspects.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu had given the service chiefs and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) a marching order to apprehend those responsible for the killings.
Emenari said the additional personnel and security equipment deployed by the IGP have all arrived in the state and posted to rural communities to ensure effective policing.
He urged landlords and hotel owners to profile their tenants and clients to curtail the influx of unknown and unidentified persons who may be criminals or people with sinister motives.
Meanwhile, immediate past governor of the state, Samuel Ortom, has accused his successor, Governor Hyacinth Alia, of playing politics with security and ignoring President Bola Tinubu’s roadmap for peace, even as human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), carpeted both the federal and state governments for failing to prosecute arrested suspects linked to the attacks.
Ortom, in a statement by his media aide, Terver Akase, in Makurdi, while reacting to a reference made by Alia, through his media aide, Kula Tersoo, that under his (Ortom’s) watch, Benue State recorded the highest number of internally displaced persons (IDPs)in its history, with over four million people displaced from their ancestral homes, said: “This figure underscores the failure of reactive rhetoric without strategic support for security architecture.”
The former governor, however, stated that the same data of 1.5 million IDPs handed to Alia in 2023 remained the data he continued to use till date, advising the governor and his team to stop playing games with the insecurity situation confronting the state.
Ortom stated: “People are being killed like animals by armed herders. Trying to minimise the magnitude of the attacks by concealing casualty figures and the number of displaced persons and making the attacks appear as mere communal clashes or skirmishes will not help solve the problem.
“Since the killing of innocent Benue people by armed herders intensified under Alia, the governor has peddled varying narratives regarding the attacks.
“At one point, he says those on a killing spree in the state are foreigners and not Nigerians. In another instance, he claims the killings are reprisals because according to him, Benue people rustled Fulani cows and were selling in wheelbarrows.
“In yet another case, the governor blames those he brands as ‘Abuja politicians’ as sponsors of the killings. His latest accusation was against clergymen in the state, whom he tagged as ‘religious bandits.’
“This clearly indicates that the governor either has no clue about what the security situation is or is deliberately trying to mislead the public.”
He advised his successor to adopt the security roadmap the President crafted for him during his recent visit to the state, saying: “It has been five days since the President visited and made very useful recommendations on addressing insecurity in the state, but the governor has apparently yet to begin implementing any of the recommendations.”
He stated that to fight the insecurity ravaging parts of Benue State, the governor should allow the 23 local government areas to take control of their resources to enable them effectively mobilise security in their domains and also provide development for their people.
Ortom stated: “Fortunately, allocations to the local governments, similar to those of the state government, have increased by 400 per cent since fuel subsidy was removed by Mr. President in 2023 and the Supreme Court gave a landmark judgment granting full financial autonomy for local governments.
“The governor should obey the Supreme Court judgment and let the councils run their affairs.
“The 23 local governments have been lamenting. The Benue State House of Assembly has also passed resolutions repeatedly urging Alia to allow local governments to control their resources, but sadly, all such pleas and interventions have fallen on deaf ears.”
Falana, in a statement on Sunday, June 22, said “it is undoubtedly clear that the authorities have continued to treat suspected killers in Benue State like sacred cows,” urging the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Fidelis Mnyim, to immediately initiate the prosecution of all arrested suspects.
Falana, citing official records, expressed concern that no prosecution had followed the arrests of suspects in past attacks, noting: “On December 30, 2024, the Benue State Commissioner of Police, Hassan Yabanet, announced that 273 suspects had been arrested in connection with capital offences, with 20 firearms and 51 rounds of ammunition also recovered.”
In the same vein, he referenced a January 17, 2024, statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, that the Police had uncovered an illegal weapons factory in the state, while during the January 11, 2024, raid, two suspects, Friday Aduduakambe and Iorwashima Iornyume, were arrested.
“The Police recovered nine locally fabricated pistols, an unfinished AK-47 rifle, gas cylinders, vise machines, a filing machine and other tools used in arms manufacturing,” he said.
Falana further recalled that Alia, on April 17, this year, confirmed the arrest of three suspected herdsmen allegedly involved in an attack that killed 11 residents in Otobi, Otukpo Local Council, and on June 19, three suspected kidnappers were reportedly arrested by Community Volunteer Guards at Otukpo motor park while attempting to board a vehicle to Makurdi with ransom money obtained from their victims.
He added: “From January to June 2025 alone, we have confirmed that scores of dangerous criminal suspects have been arrested by the Benue State Police Command.
“In particular, the Police announced that not less than 43 suspected killers had been arrested in the past 10 days.”
Falana wondered what had happened to the above suspects and others arrested after then, lamenting that despite these arrests, no concrete prosecutorial action had been taken.
He also criticised the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Christopher Musa, for allegedly blaming the people of Yelwata for sheltering the attackers, describing the statement as a “diversionary way of blaming the victims of official incompetence and negligence.”
