Alleged Assassination Attempt: Afenifere Sympathises with Ortom, Sends Message to Buhari
- Gunmen suspected to be armed bandits recently opened fire on the convoy of the Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom
- Ortom had to run for over one kilometre to escape the attack by the militia group
- Reacting to the incident, Afenifere took a swipe at the Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, accusing him of shedding crocodile tears
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Pan Yoruba socio-cultural and political organisation, Afenifere, has lent its voice in sympathy with Benue governor, Samuel Ortom, over the weekend attack on him.
This was disclosed in a statement by Afenifere's leader, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, and made available to Legit.ng.
Recall that the convoy of the governor came under gunfire on Saturday afternoon, March 20, along the Makurdi-Gboko highway.
Source: Facebook
Ortom was said to be returning to Makurdi from Gboko when the incident happened.
The southwest group berated President Muhammadu Buhari over his statement that the attack should not be politicised.
According to the Afenifere leader, Buhari's reaction to the development amounted to shedding crocodile tears.
He said the Nigerian leader should desist from pretending that he was not aware that Fulani are the perpetrators of most of the killings the country has witnessed in recent times.
Pa Adebanjo recalled that the Buhari administration could neither apprehend perpetrators of the 2018 Agatu massacre in Benue state nor did anything to stem attack by herdsmen in the state.
He said:
"Rather than help the people of Benue the President told an embattled Ortom when he approached the Presidency for help in 2018 rather cynically to go make peace with his neighbors."
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that Governor Ortom on Sunday, March 21, thanked God for sparing his life following an attack by suspected bandits.
Speaking at a church service, Ortom called on Nigerians with good conscience to save the country from drifting into anarchy and lawlessness.
The governor questioned why an ethnic group would be shielded and allowed to use its militia arm to wreak havoc.
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Oluwatobi Bolashodun is a Legit.ng journalist with six years of working experience in the media industry. She graduated from Babcock University in 2012 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communication. Oluwatobi is a Current Affairs Editor, mostly writing on political, educational, and business topics. She uses her team spirit to encourage others to work hard.
Source: Legit.ng
