Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state has blamed the crisis between Tivs and Jukun especially in Taraba state on “criminal elements”.
Ortom spoke on Monday after a closed door meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the State House on the boundary dispute between Benue and Ebonyi states.
The meeting convened by Osinbajo was attended by the Deputy Governor of Ebonyi state, Kelechi Igwe and the Acting Director General of National Boundary Commission (NBC).
“On Tiv/Jukun crisis, well, I know that there is a spill-over. This is largely Tiv and Jukun in Taraba. I had Jukun in Benue state; we are not fighting. There were issues in the past and I decided to set up a judicial commission of enquiry which is still sitting to look at the remote and immediate causes of this strife so that we will find a lasting solution to it.
“This other one is more of a problem in Taraba but because there are Tiv people in Benue and we are talking about Tiv people, so each time people are displaced, some run back to Benue. So, that’s the spirit of it.
“But I think that the governor of Taraba state is doing well. Recently, they met and they agreed that there should be ceasefire even though I saw in the press that there were some issues with that peace agreement.
“But you know each time there is effort to try to solve problems, criminal elements will come in and I think that the steps that the governor took by inviting the two sides, both the Tiv and the Jukun, to sit together and find means on how they can resolve this matter is the best approach and I believe that once that problem is sorted out in Taraba state, we will not have anything in Benue state.”
On the outcome of the meeting with the Vice President to discuss the lingering problem particularly between Agila in Benue and Ngbo in Ebonyi, Ortom said a far-reaching decision had been taken to ensure that the boundary between the two states was demarcated so that people could be held responsible for their actions.
He expressed belief that very soon, the NBC would be coming out with a programme that the two states would key into and provide the necessary logistics and security to ensure that the boundary was demarcated.
“As it is now, it’s difficult to identify the criminal elements who are creating tension and creating more of these problems….
“It’s a border crisis because we are talking about two states. We should know the limits of each state. It’s a border problem more like communal problem,” he added.
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