Benue killings: Ortom blasts Alia

Ortom

As outrage grows over the spiralling violence in Benue State, former Governor Samuel Ortom has accused his successor, Governor Hyacinth Alia, of playing politics with security and ignoring President Bola Tinubu’s roadmap for peace.

This comes as human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), slammed both federal and state governments for failing to prosecute arrested suspects linked to a series of deadly attacks.

Ortom, in a statement issued by his media aide, Terver Akase, made available to journalists in Makurdi, was reacting to a reference made by Alia, through his media aide, Kula Tersoo.

The governor’s media aide said “Under Ortom’s watch, Benue State recorded the highest number of internally displaced persons in its history, with over four million people displaced from their ancestral homes.

“This figure underscores the failure of reactive rhetoric without strategic support for security architecture.”

However, putting the record straight, the former governor said the same data of 1.5 million IDPs handed to Alia in 2023 remained the data he continued to use till date.

Ortom advised his predecessor and his team to stop playing games with the insecurity situation confronting the state. Punch