Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom, on Thursday sued for peace and mutual understanding among the Jukun and Tiv people living on the border communities of Benue and Taraba states following recent crisis which had forced many people to fled their homes.
Ortom, who sympathised with the victims of the crisis, however condemned the conflict which led to loss of lives and destruction of property as well as rendered many people homeless.
In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase, the governor disclosed that him and his Taraba state counterpart, Governor Darius Ishaku have taken far reaching measures to end the conflict and restore lasting peace to the border communities.
He therefore appealed to the people of the affected communities to support the peace initiatives of the governments of the two states in order to prevent further conflicts in the area.
He assured that security agencies have been directed to apprehend perpetrators of the violence for prosecution.
Ortom further stressed the need for Jukun and Tiv in particular to emulate the example set by their sons, the Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of the Catholic Diocese of Jos and Most Reverend Father James Bature whose peace building efforts have immensely contributed to settling the age-long rivalry between the two ethnic groups spread across Taraba and Benue states.
The governor maintained that there are no alternative to peace, which was why he promptly directed his Security Adviser to visit Taraba state shortly after the unfortunate incident where he held meetings with key stakeholders including the Aku Uka of Wukari, as well as Chairmen of Ukum (Benue) and Wukari (Taraba) local government areas.
