The Executive Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, has said that it is clear injustice for the President Muhammadu Buhari Federal Government to attack the Eastern Security Network, ESN, from the South-East region, ignore the Fulanis from the North, who carry AK-47 rifles and harass, kidnap, and kill innocent citizens, .
Governor Ortom stated that the treatment meted out to the ESN, the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and its Leader, Nnamdi Kanu, should be the same for the Fulanis who openly and boldly carry guns.
He said this in an interview with BBC News Pidgin.
Governor Ortom stated: “Why should they allow Fulanis from foreign land, to come to Nigeria to disturb us?
“No country will allow that kind of a thing. But here in Nigeria, it is allowed. And those Fulani people believe they can go anywhere and take possession of the place.”
He said that the free movement by the Fulanis into Nigeria, cannot be done in Ghana, South Africa, and Kenya, except they have travel documents.
He stated that what we see unfolding, and the failure to make arrests, only proved what is allegedly being said by the Fulanis, that they “want to take over the land, and be Leaders”.
He noted: “That is why we are complaining that the Leader at the top, should not fold his arms, but also talk about this issue. He should also make efforts to show that he is our Leader.”
The Benue State Governor, wondered why people are arrested when they try to speak against the actions of the Fulanis, insisting that others, apart from the Fulanis, should be allowed to bare their minds.
He added: “It is not balanced that way, and that is what we are saying. Did they not arrest Kanu who leads IPOB? They arrested him, and I think he ran away, if not he would have been jailed.
“So, why are they not arresting these people in the forests? Do we not have Air Force, Soldiers, Police, and the DSS?
“Not too long ago, they went after the Eastern Security Network. It is an illegal thing, and I support the government to clamp down on them.
“But why should they clamp down on them alone? Why should they leave the Fulani people to carry AK-47, AK-49, and even big guns that Soldiers, Police, and the DSS do not carry in this country?”
“Why should they do that only in the South? That is injustice.
“Let everybody be treated the same way.
“The same way they are treating Kanu, IPOB, and the Eastern Security Network, let them treat gun-carrying Fulanis too that way. Why are they leaving them alone?”