Agatu killings: Gov. Ortom seeks FG, int’l agencies’ support

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has appealed to the Federal Government and international organisations to assist in rebuilding parts of Agatu Local Government Area, which was destroyed in an invasions by herdsmen.

Ortom made the appeal when he received relief materials from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Makurdi, on Thursday.

He said that the agency remained a dependable platform in contributing to capacity building, direct material support and other governance initiatives.

“We will reach out to the Federal Government through the Victims Support Fund and other avenues to secure assistance toward rebuilding the area,” he said.

Ortom said that the government was determined to ensure that all communities destroyed by the herdsmen were rebuilt to enable refugees return home.

According to him, the herdsmen are different from the Fulani’s that we have lived and co-habited with over the years.

“We understand that the herdsmen came from Mali, Ghana, Congo, and Niger, among others and are killing us every day with impunity, but this must stop,” he said.

Ortom stressed that the state would not forget such invaluable gesture by the UNHCR, especially during the 2012 and 2013 floods that affected the state.

Presenting the relief materials to the governor, UNHCR Country Representative, Ms Angele Dikonue-Atangana, said that the gesture was reciprocal as the state government had equally been supportive over the years.

Atangana said the commission was supporting with mainly non-food items for internally displaced persons (IDPs), because it would add value, as IDPs were virtually all agrarian.

She decried the massive destruction of Agatu communities by the herdsmen, and urged the Federal Government to take steps that would permanently end the crises.

“The Nigeria government should take steps to establish grazing land for marauding Fulani herdsmen as a way of ending the frequent clashes between the herdsmen and farmers in Benue state.

“In my 20 years of working as a humanitarian, I have never seen such a level of destruction. If steps are not taken, the crises can affect the country as a whole,” she said.

The relief materials include mattresses, solar lamps, blankets, cooking pots, soaps and detergents.