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Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has taken his battles with the political class to the media following a petition to the police over last week’s report on herdsmen killings in the state.
The state government it was learnt petitioned the police over the reports which thus instigated the police to summon nine journalists to police headquarters.
Leading national newspapers last week reported the killing of some citizens of the state by herdsmen. Penultimate week’s attack on the herdsmen was the latest in a series of attacks on the indigenes of the state.
Governor Bello had in the face of the uneasiness over herdsmen killings across the country offered to provide a colony for herdsmen in the state.
The governor’s offer has, however, been largely rebutted by some enlightened and esteemed statesmen in the state.
Following the governor’s assertion, a community leader in the state, Chief Alhassan Ejike, warned the governor to keep off from Kogi West in order to avoid a bloodbath.
“You are not the owner of Kogi and you cannot allocate a land that doesn’t belong to you to foreigners,” he noted.
The people of Kogi-East, who form the majority in the state have also warned the governor to keep off. The President, Igala Project, Mr. Atayi Babs, and the Secretary General, Musa Haruna, while rebuffing the governor said: “our people, who are largely farmers, are not prepared to host herdsmen or cattle colony masters in our land.
“Our position is further reinforced by the multiple acts of war and mayhem being unleashed daily on our innocent farmers and hapless law-abiding citizens in their villages, homes and farmlands by rampaging herdsmen.”
Besides the face off with his people over the herdsmen attacks, the governor has also been embroiled in repeated clashes with the political class including members of his own All Progressives Congress, APC.
The state executive of the APC had to relocate to Abuja on account of the repeated face-offs with the governor who came into office through a bye-election after the death of the APC candidate in the 2015 election, Prince Abubakar Audu.
Senator Dino Melaye, arguably the most prominent political rival of the governor in the APC last weekend petitioned the United Nations, United States and United Kingdom governments over the state of political unease in Kogi State.
Credit: Vanguard
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