Foreign Herdsmen Fueling Insecurity In Nigeria – Ortom

The Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, has said that foreign herders are the ones fueling insecurity in the country.

Speaking at a media briefing in Abuja on Thursday, Ortom asked President Muhammadu Buhari to push for a review of the ECOWAS protocol for the movement of persons, goods, and services within the sub-region.

He noted that the non-implementation of the protocol is the reason for the high level of insecurity in the nation.

He said, “In neighbouring countries like Ghana and Benin, people are properly profiled before they are allowed into the county. People coming into Nigeria have to be properly profiled before they are allowed in. It is there in the ECOWAS protocol, I have studied it, I asked my lawyers to also study it.

“Most of the herdsmen killing our people are not even Nigerians, even the president himself said this during his visit to the United Arab Emirates.”

Speaking about the benefits of the law prohibiting open grazing in Benue State, Ortom said, “The legislation we have in place in Benue is responsible for the relative peace we are enjoying.

“We have arrested and prosecuted over 400 herdsmen since the law came into effect. We have had 150 convictions. Some convicts were fined and released, others are still in Makurdi Correctional Centre.”