BONTA/UKPUTE: IGEDE’S DEMANDS FROM GOV. ORTOM

BONTA/UKPUTE CRISIS: OUR DEMANDS AT THE PEACE MEETING WITH GOVERNOR SAMUEL ORTOM

As the defender of the Benue Valley meets with the Igede Stakeholders over the lingering fracas between the Ukpute and Bonta community of Tiv land, here are important demands by the Igede people through the voice of a legal luminary, James Udo Ebe, Esq. Brought to you by Igedeonline.com 

Today, Tuesday 27th day of July, 2021, His Excellency Governor Samuel Ortom is meeting with the stakeholders from the Bonta Community in Konshisha Local Government Area and Ukpute Community in Oju Local Government Area, both of Benue State, Nigeria, towards finding a lasting solution to the age long boundary dispute between the aforementioned communities. Let me state from the outset that this peace meeting is long overdue, but it’s better late than never.

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As Representatives of Ukpute of Igede nation meet with Mr. Governor today, they should know that this meeting is not a tea party but a meeting where serious issues would be frankly talked about and specific demands are presented to the first citizen vis-a-vis the Chief Security Officer of the State, with a view to putting an end to the mindless killings of our people and destruction of properties of unquestionable proportion.

It is premised on the foregoing that I would suggest the following demands to our representatives at the meeting to present them before His Excellency, Gov Samuel Ortom at the meeting for his consideration and necessary action:

1.Governor Samuel Ortom should visit the scene of the incident for an on-the-spot assessment of the level of damage done the affected communities of Ukpute and Ochoro allegedly by Bonta Militia Boys. This visit would douse the engulfed tension in our people and bring some level of respite to the victims of this conflict. At the said visit, Mr. Governor would assure the affected communities of their security and the steps that are being taken by the government of Benue State to end this crisis once and for all.

2. Government should constitute a Judicial/Administrative Panel of Inquiry into the remote and immediate causes of the recent onslaughts and killings of Ukpute and Ochoro people, allegedly carried out by Bonta Militia Boys wherein a traditional ruler of Igede origin was gruesomely murdered. And one of the terms of reference for the Judicial/Administrative Panel of Inquiry should include a thorough investigation into the remote and immediate causes of the crisis to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime against our people and all their sponsors to justice.

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3. The government should constitute the Boundary Demarcation Committee, which should include the government officials and the representatives of Bonta and Ukpute Communities. This Committee should fix a date within THREE WEEKS, for the boundary demarcation so that the affected communities can have peace, and our people who have been displaced can return to their homes and resume farming activities in this rainy season. We can’t afford to witness famine in Igede land due to this crisis. To this end, the boundary demarcation between Bonta and Ukpute Communities should be the priority of the Government of Benue State now than ever before.

4. The government should establish military check points between the affected communities, and deploy Mobile Police to patrol the affected communities and their environs. Anyone caught fomenting trouble should be arrested and prosecuted. There should not be sacred cows.

5. Government should open Oju-Awarji road which has been closed down for almost a year and still running, to all the roads users with a guarantee of the safety of the commuters and all the people from the affected communities. In the same vein, the government of Benue State should also embark on the rehabilitation of the road so that it can be pliable by the road users without too much intervention/interruption due to deep potholes which is the present state of the road. If the road is good and pliable, criminal elements won’t have it easy to intercept vehicles plying the roads as they used to.

6. Government should send relief materials to the affected communities and the victims of the crisis who have been displaced from their homes and farms and are now camped in the IDP Camps. This will bring an immediate succour to them. They deserve to live as human beings. After all, the provision of security of lives and property and welfare of the citizens are the primary responsibilities of the Government. It is therefore, the constitutional responsibility of the government of Benue State to cater for the welfare of the the victims of this crisis across the both divides.

7. Government should provide compensation to the victims of this crisis. Admitted, this demand might sound lofty due to depletion of government revenues in recent years, but it is as important as the other ones. The attacks on our people are unprovoked. Our people have have been killed and their properties destroyed as a result of this crisis. They can’t go to their farms any longer. They deserve compensation, no matter how little. This will help them to stand on their feet again. Governor Ortom should give this a consideration, please.

Finally, I encourage our representatives to be bold, firm and courteous in presenting their demands to the Governor. It is my firm belief that the Governor and the Government of Benue State will hear the cry of our people, act on these demands and put an end to this crisis once and for all. I also know that if the foregoing demands are implemented, our people will be happy and there will be peace between Bonta and Ukpute Communities. After all, we are all brothers and sisters bound together by the Humanity.

I wish our representatives at the peace meeting a successful outing at the meeting.

Let there be peace!

I remain most humbly,

James Udor Ebe, Esq.

That was James Udor Ebe, Esq. with the submission from Abuja. Okpunyi ka ji.

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