Protesters charge Buhari to act on 50 killed by Fulani herdsmen

Many residents of Benue State have taken to the streets on Wednesday, January 3, 2017, to protest against the death of 50 people killed in Tiv communities in the state by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

The protesters stormed the popular Food Basket Roundabout in the state capital, Makurdi, to demand that President Muhammadu Buhari act on the menace of the herdsmen or resign from his position.

The protest resulted in the difficulty of movement especially for motorists passing through the area.

The marauding Fulani herdsmen carried out the devastating attacks in Guma Local Government Area and Logo LGA of the state between Sunday, December 31, 2017 and Tuesday, January 2, 2018.

Ortom blames FG for negligence

On Tuesday, December 2, state governor, Samuel Ortom, who is from Guma LGA, had also blamed the Federal Government for the incident.

While speaking to journalists at the Government House in Makurdi, the governor said the attack was successful due to negligence from the Federal Government who failed to heed to its warnings about the group.

The governor said the state had notified the Federal Government of the threat of the herdsmen after they vowed to resist the state's anti-grazing bill.

He said, "You would recall that I made official reports to the federal government about the intended invasion of Benue State by these herdsmen who claimed that they would resist the (Anti-Grazing) law. I have never seen where people would come out with this level of impunity.

"This is unfortunate; we are living in a country that is presumed to be our own. Security agencies in this country had been aware of the impending attacks and what you are seeing here is just a tip of the iceberg.

"The federal government and President Muhammadu Buhari must rise and give us protection to show that we are truly citizens of this country.

"Though we will continue to urge our people to be law abiding, there is a limit to what we can bear. This is not fair, it is not right and certainly unacceptable."

The governor revealed that nine members of the Benue State Livestock Guards, set up by Ortom for the enforcement of the Anti-open Grazing Law last year, were killed during the massacre.