Benue State Herdsmen Attack

Herdsmen crisis: Wike attacks Gov Ortom of Benue state

- Governor Ortom is not handling Benue state in a proper fashion, says Governor Nyesom Wike

- Wike says Ortom is acting sloppy and lazy in the face of a critical situation

- The Rivers state governor says there is no excuse regarding the shabby nature in which things are being handled in Benue

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state, has revealed that his Benue counterpart - Samuel Ortom is making a mockery of his position in the way he is handling the herdsmen crisis.

Herdsmen crisis: Wike attacks Gov Ortom of Benue state

Wike in a statement made on Wednesday, March 22, called for the imposition of a state of emergency in Benue state.

His call is coming barely five days after the attacks in Zaki Biam, which led to the death of over 52 persons.

Wike said declaration of a state of emergency in Benue had become necessary because the governor, Samuel Ortom, had shown “ineptitude and lack of capacity to handle the situation.

He said:“You can’t have a governor watching helplessly as his people are being killed. What kind of governor is that.“He has displayed sheer laziness and incapacity in the whole issue, and this is quite unfortunate.”

While asserting that governors were not fully in charge of security in states, despite being called chief security officers (CSOs), Wike, however, said governors were supposed to have strategies, working with security agencies, on how to combat crime.

 “No excuse is acceptable for the high number of deaths in Benue”, he said.

 Report shows that about 60 persons, including women and children, have been killed in recent attacks, with several others sustaining various degrees of injury.

The latest attack was an invasion of Zaki Biam, in Ukum Local Government Area of Benue.