Northern Group Knocks Ortom Over Comment On Mohammed

A Northern group has berated Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State for calling his Bauchi State counterpart, Senator Bala Mohammed, a “terrorist”.

Naija News reports that governor  Ortom has accused the Bauchi governor of being a member of the Fulani terrorists terrorizing Nigeria.

Ortom also condemned his colleague for saying that he was responsible for creating a “negative perception of Fulani herders”.

Addressing reporters in Makurdi, Ortom stated that Bala Mohammed should be held if anything happens to him.

Reacting to the comments, governor Mohammed has asked Ortom to prove his claim with substantial evidence that he is sponsoring terrorism.

The governor made this known in a statement on Wednesday signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mukhtar Gidadoto.

However, the Nigerian Youth Mobilisation and Enlightenment Movement (NYMEM) has condemned Ortom’s verbal attacks on Mohammed.

At a press briefing in Kaduna on Wednesday, the group led by Comrade Sammani Sharif Bashir and Malam Yusuf Abubakar accused Ortom of being a danger to the peace and political unity of the region.

According to the group, the comments made by Ortom were not only unnecessary but “provocative, callous, and irresponsible.”

The group said Ortom’s statement was capable of heightening tensions and aggravating insecurity, political tension, and misunderstanding within the region.

It called on northern governors to put their house in order by bringing an end to the verbal attacks and counter-attacks between the two governors.

The group also urged the presidency to caution political office holders, particularly from the South West, from making unguarded utterances.