Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State says herdsmen have concluded plans to kidnap and murder him along the expressway. Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State says nomadic herdsmen have concluded plans to ambush his motorcade and kill him. According to Punch, Ortom disclosed this during an interactive session with the church, traditional institution and other stakeholders.Organised by the Makurdi Catholic Diocese, the interactive session held at the Pastoral Centre, Makurdi, the Benue State capital, Punch reports.“The armed herdsmen, according to the intelligence report, would ensure that all my security aides were killed, after which they would kidnap and torture me, before killing me”, Ortom said.Ortom detailed that according to intelligence reports reaching his desk, the herdsmen have concluded plans to waylay his convoy along the Makurdi/Lafia highway and murder him in cold blood.Reporting to the police “Already, I had reported the matter to the police and other security agencies and they are aware of this.“Therefore, any time my spirit doesn’t allow me to travel by road, I would call flight operators. But, just a few days ago, the federal government issued a circular directing that no flight should land in Makurdi Airport again,” Punch quotes Ortom as saying. Ortom recently defected from the governing APC to the opposition PDP. These days, he considers himself an enemy of the federal government especially after his State’s account was frozen by the anti-graft agency following his defection. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said the probe of Benue State’s account preceded Ortom’s defection, and added that the account was under the microscope for alleged corrupt withdrawals spanning several months. Benue State has been at the center of clashes between farmers and pastoralists. The farmers-herders clashes have claimed more than 500 lives in Benue and other north central States since the turn of the year.
