Tuesday <strong>06</strong> <strong>Feb</strong>ruary <strong>2018</strong> 30 BUSINESS DAY C002D5556 NEWS Fulani herdsmen kill 1,500 in Benue, destroy over N100bn property in 5 years JAMES KWEN, Makurdi tion of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “Part 2 of the Second Schedule to the Constitution reinforces the House of Assembly’s power by providing that, a House of Assembly may make Laws for the State with respect to industrial, commercial or agricultural development. The law followed due process with public hearings and the requisite opportunity for stakeholders, including the police to make inputs. “The bill was signed into law on May 22nd, 2017 and a grace period of six months was given for those interested in the establishment of ranches to obtain permits to do so before it came into operation on November 1st, 2017,” Onoja said. The commissioner recalled that when the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore rose against the law and threatened to invade the state, Governor Samuel Ortom, the Benue State House of Assembly, and leaders of all the socio-cultural organisations in the state petitioned the Presidency and all the relevant security agencies in the country. He said, “However, no action was taken by those saddled with the responsibility to protect lives and property at the national level. Between January 1 and 2, <strong>2018</strong>, more than 73 persons including seven members of the Benue State Live- No fewer than 1,500 people have been killed in Benue State due to Fulani herdsmen attacks with over N100 billion worth of properties, including businesses, farm lands, agricultural produce and buildings destroyed from 2013 to date. Lawrence Onoja, Benue State commissioner for information and orientation, who made this revelation at a press conference in Makurdi, said the state was still collating information on the number of people currently being killed by the herdsmen. Onoja also said during this period, thousands of inhabitants of communities attacked, had been displaced, causing them untold hardship while the state government had continued to spend huge sums of money to provide refuge for them in internally displaced people’s camps. He noted that it was in a bid to find permanent solution to this wanton destruction of lives and property in the state that the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law 2017 was enacted by the Benue State House of Assembly in exercise of its powers as provided by Section 4 of the 1999 Constitustock Guards were killed in attacks on Benue communities by suspected Fulani herdsmen after they invaded Logo LGA and Guma L G A”. According to Onoja, even with the above development, the arrests of those who issued the threats and have fulfilled their pledge have neither been arrested nor invited for questioning, rather different strategies have been devised by some of those saddled with the responsibility of protecting lives and property to divert attention. He therefore lambasted the inspector-general of police, Ibrahim Idris, for accusing Governor Samuel Ortom of causing the lingering clashes between farmers and herdsmen in Benue and Nasarawa states, and his call for the repel of the anti Open Grazing Law. Idris is reported to have spoken at a closed-door meeting with members of the joint Senate Committee on Police Affairs and National Security and Intelligence on the killings in Benue and environs when he appeared before the committee in response to the Senate’s summon. The IGP is said to have identified the implementation of the anti-open grazing law and the arming of Tiv militia as causes of the crisis.
Tuesday <strong>06</strong> <strong>Feb</strong>ruary <strong>2018</strong> BUSINESS DAY 31