TheCable

Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue, has asked residents of the state to take up arms and defend themselves against attackers.

The governor made the call while reacting to the killing of villagers in Ahentse village, Ndzorov council ward, Guma LGA of the state.

Gunmen had, in the early hours of Tuesday, invaded the community, shooting sporadically and killing four persons.

Reacting to the incident, Ortom, in a statement by Nathaniel Ikyur, his chief press secretary, said it was no longer fashionable to cry for help.

The governor asked residents to “arm themselves with lawful weapons as prescribed by law and defend themselves”.

“It is no longer fashionable to continue to cry out for help. We must now be alert and ready to confront these killers. This is another way we can assist the security agencies in combating this menace since they are obviously overstretched beyond limits,” he said.

Ortom called on the federal government to synergise with his administration and step up military operations to flush out armed herdsmen from neighbouring states bordering Benue.

“It is time the federal government steps up the military operations in states that share common boundaries with Benue state because these communities along the borders have become targets of the armed herders,” he said.

“It is time to end this unnecessary shedding of innocent blood. We can do it if we cooperate with each other.

“The situation where killer herdsmen take shelter with our neighbours, sneak in and kill our people without provocation will not be tolerated any longer.

“Let the security agencies continue to cooperate with us in Benue to end this bloodletting. Let us  dislodge these invaders from wherever they may be hiding for peace to return to our communities.”