Benue Groups Raise the Alarm over Alleged Plot to Kidnap, Assasinate Ortom, Others

• Benue Groups Raise the Alarm over Alleged Plot to Kidnap, Assasinate Ortom, Others

Socio-cultural groups in Benue State yesterday raised the alarm over plots to assassinate and kidnap Governor Samuel Ortom and the Clerk of the state House of Assembly, Torese Agena, after the failed impeachment plot against the governor.

In a press briefing by the Tiv Youth Organisation (TYO) in Makurdi, the President of the group, Mr. Timothy Hembaor, alleged that enemies of the state may have concluded arrangements to outrightly eliminate Ortom having failed to impeach him.

According to him, the idea was muted sometime ago, but its implementation was pushed to 2019 when, by the plotters’ calculation, Ortom would no longer be the governor.

“This was the thinking, which led to the instruction that Governor Ortom be denied the APC (All Progressives congress) governorship ticket,” he said.

He said the governor’s defection to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), however, changed the timeline of the execution of the plot, hence the decision to move for his immediate impeachment.

“The plotters are believed to have carefully developed ways to stoke political crisis in Benue State as well as coordinate and supervise another pogrom in the state so that if Governor Ortom cannot be impeached, the coordinated crisis and sponsored mayhem will be escalated enough to declare a state of emergency in Benue State,” he added.

He called on the concerned citizens of the country to be vigilant to the plot even as he stated that the citizens owe the state and the country the duty to always make its position on the matters known without fear of intimidation.

In a related development, the Benue Youth Forum, has also alleged that a move to kidnap the Clerk of the House Agena, has been uncovered.

According to the President of the group, Terrence Kuanum, efforts have been intensified by the police and Department of State Services (DSS) to kidnap the Clerk of the state House of Assembly at all costs to force him to conduct an illegal sitting of the assembly so the plotters can achieve their aim.

“Information available to us indicates that plain clothes detectives have been deployed to the House of Assembly to execute the plan. Civil servants working at the Assembly complex have been subjected to constant harassment by weird looking security operatives.

It is rather shameful that President Muhammadu Buhari who realised after about four months that the Inspector General of Police did not obey his directive to go and secure lives in Benue State without being penalised is so eager to deploy policemen to enforce illegality in the same state he couldn’t secure lives and property,” he said.