…As Onaiyekan wants violent Fulani herdsmen cautioned***
Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue may have finally found a solution to the rampaging Fulani herdsmen, as he has arrested and convicted no fewer than 81 herdsmen, while detaining some 3,000 cows, under the state’s anti-open grazing law.
Ortom confirmed this on Saturday in New York, while giving an update in a keynote address at the 2019 annual convention of the Idoma Association USA, saying the implementation of the law had brought relative peace to the state.
“We are implementing our law, and there is relative peace. As at today, we have convicted 81 herdsmen. Some have paid fines; others are still in prison as I talk to you.
“We have gone a step further. Anywhere we see cattle doing open grazing, we go after them. So far, we have arrested over 3,000 cattle.
“The law stipulates that within seven days, owners of such cattle should pay fines and reclaim them. We have been collecting fines from them,’’ he said.
While insisting that ranching remained the best solution to the farmers/herders conflict, the governor challenged anyone with a better alternative to bring it forward.
Ortom spoke on the topic, “Security and Economic Challenges in Benue State’’, which was a modification of the theme of the conference that centred on Idoma land.
He said all parts of the state were facing similar development challenges, including insecurity, infrastructural deficit, unemployment, health and sanitation issues, among others, hence his decision to broaden the scope.
The governor said only four of the 23 local government areas in the state, namely Otukpo, Konshisha, Ushongo and Vandeikya, were spared of conflict between locals and herdsmen in the last six years.
“As at today, herdsmen have attacked 19 of the 23 local governments in Benue, claiming over 5,000 lives between 2013 and 2018.
“Over 195,000 homes and 30 churches worth billions of Naira were destroyed in the attacks,’’ Ortom said.
He thanked Idoma people in the U.S. for their support to victims of the Agatu attack in 2016; award of scholarships to Benue students, among others.
The governor also lauded them for being of good conduct, noting that to the best of his knowledge no criminal case or report had been brought against them.
Ortom used the opportunity to brief his hosts on the policies, programmes and projects being executed by the state government under his leadership.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan on Saturday called on Fulani leaders to caution their people against violence before things get out of hand in the country.
Onaiyekan, who made the call at a mass to celebrate his 50th Priestly Ordination Anniversary in Abuja, stressed that the Fulanis should be worried at the rate which they were being mentioned for something evil.
He noted that at this rate, very soon no place would be safe for Fulanis anymore because no one is safe at the moment because of Fulanis.
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“If I am a Fulani, I will do whatever it takes to advise them to stop giving the Fulanis a bad name, because people are saying that every attack in the country right now is perpetrated by Fulani herdsmen.
“Many who were kidnapped, after their release report that their kidnappers were Fulani herdsmen, if we can start by cleaning up the Fulani camps so that those using the Fulani names for evil will not do so anymore.
“Rev. Fr Paul Offu, who was shot dead on August 1, 2019, was said to have been killed by some hoodlums suspected to be the notorious and murderous Fulani herdsmen,” he said.
He, however, prayed for the soul of Fr Paul Offu to rest in peace, adding: ”We pray that those whose job it is to secure the nation will brace up to the challenge and do what is required of them.”
Onaiyekan, who noted that he had never regretted being a priest, stressed that like every person in life, priesthood had its own challenges and as a priest there were sacrifices one must make.
“As a priest, you must be ready to sacrifice and get use to some of the inconveniences that come with it, priesthood is not as difficult as they make it to look,” the Prelate added.
Mr. Peter Onaiyekan, brother to Cardinal Onaiyekan said that he was proud to have a brother like him, and that the cardinal was the most intelligent in the family.
He noted that Onaiyekan was a true man of God and prayed that God continues to bless and keep him.
Bishop Anselm Umoren described the Cardinal as a humble, kind and committed man of God.
