Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state Wednesday said the state would not cede one inch of Benue land for the implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP).
The governor also noted that on Monday, herdsmen engaged the Police and personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) in a shootout close to the bank of the River Benue in Makurdi where two Agro Rangers were killed.
Ortom disclosed this while speaking with stakeholders of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from Kwande and Ushongo local government areas of the state at the Government House, Makurdi, Wednesday.
Members of the Civil Defence were alerted of the activities of herdsmen who had camped few kilometres from Oracle Farms, but on reaching there, they were attacked by the mercenaries therefore killing two of the operatives.
The governor explained that the herdsmen who came in their numbers were on the verge of overpowering the security agents posted to the area, until a reinforcement of the Army came and salvaged the situation.
However, he stated that the herdsmen had succeeded in carting away eight motorcycles belonging to members of the livestock guards.
Ortom, who advised the people of the area and indeed the state to be security conscious, insisted that the herders were in Benue to take over their land.