… Says “cattle in bushes” fuel attacks
Otukpo Local Government Chairman, Hon. Maxwell Ogiri, has called for an end to open grazing in Benue State, arguing that the presence of cattle in farm areas is the primary reason armed men are entering rural communities.
Speaking to journalists in Otukpo on Monday, Hon. Ogiri said communities in the LGA have resolved that herders must no longer live in the bushes.
“The only reason some persons are in the bushes where we go to do our farm work is that their cattle are there,” Ogiri said. “If we have no dealings with cattle anymore, there will be no excuse for them to be in our farm areas.”
The chairman said leaders across Otukpo are in agreement on the new position. He said herders can live within town and be known to the community, but not in farmlands.
“We don’t want people in our bushes anymore. Yes, they can live among us. Let us know their address. Let us see their faces. Let us hear their voices, but no longer in the farm areas,” he stated.
Hon. Ogiri added that anyone found in farm areas going forward who “ought to be living within us in the community, we will treat as a criminal.”
He referenced the Benue State anti-open grazing law, describing it as a “deliberate effort” by the government and legislature. Using Kano as an example, he said societies can do without things they cherish for the sake of peace.
“In Kano, there is no law prohibiting anyone from rearing pigs. But it is a law in their hearts. If they can live without that delicacy that is so much cherished in Benue, and they did not die, I believe we can do without beef and still sustain our lives,” he said.
“The Bible says that if any part of your body will cause you to go to hell, cut it off. So I still believe that our people can do without beef if that will secure their lives and bring peace to them,” he added.
“Let the farm be for our farmers. We are not asking anybody not to live among us,” he said, citing the peaceful coexistence with the Igbo and other communities in Otukpo as an example.
The chairman also detailed attacks in the past weeks that claimed over 26 lives across Otukpo-Nobi, Akpachi, Ondo, Ogboju-Icho and Efeyi.
“In Otukpo-Nobi, about 8 persons were killed. Akpachi recorded 2 deaths. Ondo had 3 killed before youths and vigilantes repelled the attackers. One person was killed in Ogboju-Icho. The deadliest was in Efeyi at about 5:00am, where 16 bodies were recovered,” he said.
Ogiri said the attacks have created fear, disrupted farming, and left residents unable to sleep. He called for vigilance and urged residents to question strange movements in their communities.
“This is not a time for blame. It is a time that calls for all of us to put our hands together,” he said.
“When situations like this happen, you see people coming up with all kinds of stories.”
Ogiri also urged the media to help shape the public narrative, saying journalists “hold what is even more potent than paper and pen” in the digital age.
According to the Chairman, the Benue State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, and the council are currently providing relief materials to victims, while most displaced persons are being hosted by relatives and friends.
Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Benue State Council, Comrade Bemdoo Ugbe said the union’s visit to Otukpo was to get first-hand facts on the attacks and ongoing peace efforts amid the farming season. He decried the displacement of farmers and warned of looming hunger and food insecurity.
Otukpo is the headquarters of Benue South Senatorial District, also known as Zone C, and the traditional seat of the Och’Idoma, the paramount ruler of the Idoma nation.
