The Tor Tiv, His Royal Majesty Iortese James Ayatse has said that the people of Benue will not tolerate the culture of killing, rape and other forms of impunity from killer herdsmen in invading communities in the state.
Speaking during a stakeholders town hall meeting attended by President Bola Tinubu in Makurdi on Wednesday, Ayatse accused the leadership of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) of allowing the killer herdsmen to infiltrate their group.
Addressing the killing of residents of Benue State in their hundreds by these killer herdsmen, Ayatse emphasised that the issue on the ground is not a simple herder-farmer clash but a calculated campaign of genocide and land seizure.
Tor Tivs remark followed a question raised by the leader of MACBAN at the meeting when he asked, how do you force a people to change their culture?
The MACBAN leader was referring to the nomadic nature of Fulanis who are popularly known for herding their livestock in search of grazing areas.
However, in his response, Ayatse said that, over decades, the people of Benue have lived in harmony with herders.
He, however, lamented that the crop of herders who currently invade their communities are armed with assault rifles, kill, main and rape the people of the state.
He also criticised the narrative that Benue people should learn to live with their neighbours, suggesting that President Bola Tinubu is being misinformed by heads of relevant security agencies.
The Tor Tiv called for the mechanics presumably referring to legitimate herders to deal with the mad men the criminal elements among them.
Insisting that the crisis in the state is not a cultural issue but a criminal one, Ayatse urged that such actions must end immediately and that the community will only accept peaceful coexistence after the criminal elements are expunged from the state.
His words, Thats not the culture we know, what we have now are criminal herders carrying assault rifles, killing our people, maiming them, raping our women and our daughters, dispossessing us of our lands.
And even when we harvest our crops and bring them home, they come to our homes, destroy our houses, bring out our harvest for their cows to eat.
Is that a culture? No! I beg to defer. Any culture that is killing people, maiming people, taking over their livelihood, and burning their property, does not require one-second notice. That culture must end immediately, the Tor Tiv insisted.
