A coalition of Middle Belt Youths has asked herdsmen to vacate the region before October 1 this year. They, however, distanced themselves from the quit notice issued to Igbo resident in the north.
Operating under the aegis of Middle Belt Renaissance Forum, the youths, which met in Abuja, threatened war at the expiration of their ultimatum.
The Guardian reports that a communiqué by its convener, Comrade Jones Simon Alfa, urged governors from the region to be alive to governance and desist from harassing media practitioners.
It reads: “The Middle Belt governors should sit up for governance and stop primitive accumulation of wealth. The region is not in any way part of the agitation for Igbo to vacate the north on October 1.
“We have been living with the Igbo peacefully and will not join in the call for secession.”
In a related development, Governor Samuel Ortom has vowed to go ahead with the anti-grazing law in Benue State.
The governor, who spoke yesterday in Makurdi against the backdrop of the court initiated at an Abuja High Court against the legislation by Miyeitti Allah Kautal Hore, said the move would not deter his administration in doing what was right for the people.
He maintained that the exercise was only a ploy to kill time, saying government would not watch idly while a few disturb the prevailing peace in the state. The governor pledged to tackle the group legally.
Joined in the suit filed by the association’s trustees, Alhaji Abdullahi Bello Bodojo and Salleh Alhassan through their counsel, Aliyu Ahmed and Associates, are the National Assembly, Attorney General of Federation (AGF), Inspector General of Police, Benue House of Assembly, the state government and Commissioner of Police.
Besides, the Ika Diocese of the Anglican Communion has urged the Federal Government to halt the alleged killings and destruction of farmlands by herdsmen in Delta State.
President, Mothers’ Union and Women’s Guild of the church, Dame Mercy Yetunde Onekpe, lamented the continued attack on persons in the state, saying the activities of the nomads were another major source of fear nationwide.
However, the peace meeting called to straighten ties following the eviction notice issued by northern youths for Igbo to vacate the region has been postponed.
The 10-day postponement, according to the committee of Hausa and Igbo leaders in Abuja, was to allow for more consultation.
The bi-partisan committee was set up on August 4 to proffer solution to the tension generated by the October 1, 2017 quit notice.
A statement signed by Chi Nwogu and Dauda Shamakiri gave vent to the shift.
Also yesterday, Yoruba leaders in the north urged the two ethnic nationalities to live peacefully and jointly contribute to a virile and prosperous Nigeria.
Rising from a meeting in Kaduna, the Ambassador Muhammad Arigbabuwo-led Yoruba Traditional Council Arigbabuwo expressed satisfaction at the role of northern governors, monarchs as well as the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and other bodies in dousing the tension.
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