The indigenes of Tyo Mu community in Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State have revealed that the recent attack on Governor Samuel Ortom was orchestrated by the governor in order to perfect his plans of taking over their land.
Recall that at the weekend, suspected Fulani herders had attacked the convoy of Governor Ortom around Tyo-Mu settlement, located on Kilometer 12 along Makurdi-Gboko federal highway.
A few days after the attack, the indigenes, under the auspices of Tyo-Mu Concerned Youth Vanguard, issued a statement on Tuesday, lamenting that the governor had already bought over their land but never paid a dime to the inhabitants.
The indigenes, therefore, described the attack as a stage-managed incident geared towards chasing the inhabitants of the community in order for the governor to grab their land.
The statement, signed by the President of the association, Vershima Tsebee, demanded compensation of victims, saying that the indigenes would resist any attempt by highly placed politicians to take advantage of the crisis to grab their forefathers land.
the group said: “We have no place to live; our inheritance has been razed down without compensation or prosecution of those involved in the crisis.
“There is no mechanism put here to prevent this dastardly destruction of lives and property up till now.
“Then we wake up to find out that Governor Ortom is purchasing the land. We feel that the alleged attack is to further frighten the people and scare them away from the area to pave way for the governor’s land-grabbing agenda.”
But the governor, on Tuesday, said he had no reason to fake his attack, expressing sadness about those who doubted the incident.
Speaking with the State House correspondents shortly after meeting President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the governor wondered the benefit he would derive from raising a false allegation.
The group further accused the state government of levity in settling the age-long communal crises between the Ihyarev and the Kparev communities in the area which, according to them, has claimed many lives and properties worth hundreds of millions of Naira.
“What we have witnessed here for decades has been land crisis between Hyarev and Kparev. The last one led to the suspension of district heads.
“We were surprised to later learn that Governor Ortom came from the blues and bought the vast land for his private farm business when the people whose loved ones, houses and properties were destroyed have not been compensated,” the group added.
Narrating the complexity of the crisis and place, Mr Vershima averred that Tyo-Mu settlement is located on Kilometer 12 along Makurdi-Gboko federal highway.
“The inhabitants are 100 percent Tiv-speaking people and predominantly farmers. Because they live on the bank of River Benue, they are noted for massive rice farming, cassava, potatoes, sonata beans, groundnut and yams.
“The people thus live on a large farmland that spreads to about 15 Kilometres with a large Fadama that spread to River Benue,” the group said.