The Benue State Commissioner of Police, Bashir Makama, has made it clear that herdsmen, like any other Nigerian, have constitutional right to live in any part of the country, saying that the quit notice which governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state issued to herdsmen to leave the state within 72 hours was unconstitutional.
The police commission, who was reacting to such executive order by governor Ortom, emphasized that the constitution permits everyone to reside anywhere in the country.
“The herdsmen should have been advised to leave. And if they discover that the people are not receptive to them, they would have left quietly rather than push them out. The state belongs to all Nigerians.”
He assured that the police would do everything to protect lives and property in the area.
The herdsmen have been accused of killing Benue citizens, destroying their crops within the past five years.
Following the incessant clashes between residents of the state and the visitors, which had resulted to loss of lives and property, the governor few days ago ordered them to leave the state, saying that they are not welcomed by the unarmed inhabitants of the area.
Meanwhile, a group under the aegis of Vanguard Against Tiv Massacre (VATIM), has claimed that no fewer than 500 people have been killed and 300,000 displaced across the state by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
VATIM, in the statement, claimed that there is a conspiracy of silence against Benue State in the situation. [myad]
