Governor Ortom says there have been threats to his life following enactment of grazing law

BENUE State governor Samuel Ortom has revealed that there have been threats to his life following his recent decision to enact the Open Grazing Prohibition Law designed to curb the activities of Fulani cattle herdsmen.

Last month, Benue State introduced the new law, which restricts cattle grazing to designated areas in a bid to address the incessant clashes between pastoralists and farming communities. Some Fulani herdsmen, however, have opposed the law and in response have carried out armed attacks on defenceless villages, killing local farmers.

With hundreds dying in the bloody clashes, Governor Ortom has been at the forefront of those calling on the federal government to crackdown on the herdsmen. Speaking in Makurdi, the Benue State capital yesterday, he said he had already reported the threats to his life to the security agencies, with expectations that those behind the threats would be arrested.

Governor Ortom said:  “There are threats to my life because of the grazing law we enacted in the state to ensure peaceful coexistence between our local farmers and herdsmen. I have also reported the matter to the security agencies that some persons were planning to attack me but I keep saying that life belongs to God.

"It is only God that gives and takes away life, so my life is not in the hands of any person who is not happy with the Open Grazing Prohibition Law, 2017. Whether these threats are real or not, they are threats and I have reported it to the police and the security agencies are doing the needful."

He added that he believes that those behind the threats will be apprehended and brought to book. According to the governor, the grazing law came from the people to stem the killings in rural communities and it was not targeted at any group, persons or individuals, neither was it intended to chase anyone out of the state.