By Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
The Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore Socio-Cultural Association has challenged the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom to make public the security document in his possession ‎of the alleged planned invasion ‎of the State by its members.
‎The governor had on Thursday in Abuja raised the alarm over an alleged plan by Miyetti Allah to launch fresh attacks on the State, calling on the security agencies to protect the people by immediately arresting the leaders of the group.
‎The President of the Association, Mr. Abdulahi ‎ Bodejo and the National Secretary, Mr. Saleh Alhassan, while addressing a press conference yesterday in Abuja, described the recent governor’s media outburst ‎ as an attempt to pre-empt the outcome of the court process.
‎Myetti Allah also accused Ortom of emasculating the economic livelihoods of its members with the State’s anti-grazing law set to take effect from November 1.
‎The Association added that most of its members were subsistence herders and as such could not afford the ranching system of cattle rearing which required a substantial amount to put in place.
‎Miyetti Allah ‎noted that the intention of the State governor to create six detention centres in the state was a way of giving legal backing to cattle rustling.
‎According to the group, “‎the attention of the leadership and members of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore Socio-Cultural Association has been drawn to the recent incendiary media outburst by the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom on our Association legal challenge to the oblivious and wicked ‘Anti-grazing law’ and the veil propaganda mounted by the governor and his agents on the leadership of the Miyetti Allah.”
The group added; “we view this as an attempt to use media to influence and pre-empt the outcome of the court processes challenging the negative law currently on going at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
“We remain totally opposed to anti-grazing law because it is intended to destroy our means of economic livelihoods. It is ill-timed and driven by hatred of our people.
“W‎e challenge the governor to make public the security documents in his possession of the alleged planned invasion ‎of Benue state by pastoralists.
“We remain totally opposed to anti-grazing law because it is intended to destroy the means of economic livelihoods of our members.
“We have been looking and consciously working with all relevant stakeholders in finding lasting solution to the herders/farmers conflict in Nigeria
‎‎”We are aware of the intention of the Benue‎ State governor to create six detention centres undertaken a committee to legitimise cattle rustling that have been the major driver of the conflicts between farmers/herders in the Benue Valley confirming our earlier fears of the negative use of the anti-grazing law to dispose our people of their cattle.‎
Miyetti Allah faulted the State government for not carrying out any scientific study to ascertain the number of pastoralists in the State, or providing land for the ranching before implementing the law.
It noted: “If you say you want us to ranch, give us a land first. You cannot have a land tenure system that vests ownership of land into the hands of State governors ‎and then you are telling individuals over night that wake up and create ranches, is neither here or there,
‎”You said you want to have people to ranch there cattle, you did not even do scientific study of how many pastoralists in Benue, you didn’t provide land for the ranches, you said they should go and obtain land and do ranches and you are giving them some few months to do that.
“For you to ‎open a ranch, you need to buy a land, build the infrastructure on it, which this our subsistence herders cannot afford it. All the people that have ranches are retired generals or top civil servants that have probably looted money. So it is not possible,” he said.
Miyetti Allah said as an organisation that is championing the economic rights of the pastoralists called on its members to remain law abiding .
‎”The Benue Valley is the meeting point of pastoralists between November and February, it has been there. Any attempt to say you are going to block them from the Benue Valley is only going to create confusion,” he said.
It therefore appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to direct relevant security agencies to closely monitored the activities and actions of Samuel Ortom against the Fulanis.
