Benue killings: Ortom working on wrong advice, says Miyetti Allah*

*Benue killings: Ortom working on wrong advice, says Miyetti Allah*

The umbrella body of cattle breeders in the country, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, has said the anti-open grazing law in Benue State Government, aimed at regulating cow grazing in the state, must be modified for peace to reign in the state. The Secretary-General of the association, Usman Ngelzerma, said this during an interview with The PUNCH on Monday.

Ngelzerma said, “I like the Benue State governor. He is a peace-loving person but is working on wrong advice. The approach he took is wrong. You cannot change the way of life of a people like the way you turn off a light switch. “We don’t wish for the crisis to continue but let us give it (the law) another look. We don’t like the killings; we will never condone the killing of people. Give the farmers their rights but consider the pastoralists too.”

Ngelzerma, blamed a faction of the association for issuing threats before the latest attacks in Benue State. He fingered the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, which endorsed the then President Goodluck Jonathan in the build-up to the 2015 election, as being at loggerheads with the Benue State Government.