The Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia has declared would not surrender Benue to criminal gangs, vowing that no stone would be left unturned in ensuring that the state enjoys maximum security.
He contends that the state of Benue cannot slide into anarchy where lawlessness and impunity rule supreme.
This is contained in a press statement signed by the Governor’s spokesperson, Sir Tersoo Kula in Makurdi on Saturday.
‘Gov. Alia is serious about securing the state and ridding it of criminal elements,’ Alia was quoted as saying in the statement while vowing that no criminal in Benue would escape punishment.
On the Kwande attack on cattle traders, he stated categorically that ‘no Fulani person was among the two traders that were unfortunately killed by criminals as alleged by the Benue PDP.’
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He advised the PDP to join him to bring development to the State instead of continuously stoking the embers of hatred and sparking ethnic tensions.
The statement indicated that the governor has directed security agencies and traditional rulers within the area to ensure that the criminals who attacked and killed two Katsina-Ala LGA-based cattle traders are arrested and prosecuted.
‘The allegation by the PDP that it was Fulani herders that were attacked and killed is patently false and a figment of its blurry imagination which is obviously a decoy to mislead the unsuspecting public.
‘The public is hereby urged to disregard such blanket falsehood which is the usual antics of the PDP drawn from its familiar tone.
‘It has to be clearly stated that what happened at Nyihemba was purely a criminal act and the perpetrators must be punished to serve as a deterrent to others.
‘It is therefore mischievous for the PDP to interpret the incident as though it was an assault targeted at cattle traders,’ he stated.
Africa Today News, New York reports that the Governor went on to add that nobody is above the law as long the person is resident in the State.