The Edo state governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has denied claim that he allocated the sum of N6 billion to compensate “Fulani terrorists”.
Okpebholo discribed the claim as inciting and a vile attempt to distort facts, sow ethnic division, and destabilise the peace and unity of Edo state.
The proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) had made the compensation claim in a publication and declared that “it’s a betrayal of the people of Edo state.”
However, the Edo state governor in a press statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), on Thursday, said: “no compensation of N6 billion was approved or paid to any group as claimed.
“The figures and narrative being peddled are fictitious, malicious, and deliberately misleading.
“The baseless allegation that he handed over vigilantes to Fulani authorities is not only a ridiculous lie but an affront to the memory of the security personnel who serve Edo State with honour.”
Continuing, the statement accused IPOB of being responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent Nigerians, including Igbos, through its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network, adding that “it cannot pretend to care about justice or human rights.”.
The governor charged security agencies to investigate the claim and bring to book the authors of the inciting publication, noting, “no group, however loud, should be allowed to threaten public peace or attempt to instigate ethnic warfare in the state.”