FCN, citing a series of instances, alleged that the governor had come under heavy wave of victimisation from the Federal Government and its agents.
A group, Forum of Concerned Nigerians (FCN) has warned the Nigerian government against any harm on Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State.
The group which gave the warning while addressing a press conference Monday in Makurdi, the state capital said that it would resist any form of attempt at silencing the governor.
FCN, citing a series of instances, alleged that the governor had come under heavy wave of victimisation from the Federal Government and its agents.
The group’s spokesman, Peter Shande, called on the international communities to act on the alarm raised by the Benue State Governor concerning rising cases of violence and killings in the country.
The group said, “We have carefully watched the Buhari administration and its agents serially use the media to threaten and vilify the person and office of the Benue State Governor. This is unacceptable.
“What is Ortom’s offence? Is it a crime to choose to stand with one’s people in the face of brazen injustice, oppression and impunity? Since 2017, Governor Ortom has come under a heavy wave of sponsored blackmail and victimisation from the Federal Government and its willing agents.”
FCN in the statement jointly signed with Peter Shande, Goodluck Ibem (Umuahia), Fredrick Adebayo (Lagos), Yakubu Ahmed (Kaduna), Tonye Lawson (Port Harcourt), Samson Ochono (Abuja), Timothy Hembaor (Makurdi) and Andrew Longyem (Jos) maintained that “Governor Ortom is one Nigerian who has chosen to be the voice of the voiceless, so any attempt at silencing him will mean an attempt to silence over 200 million helpless Nigerians, and such an attempt will be stoutly resisted.”
In its warning to the federal government, the group said, “We will not fail to warn the Presidency that we are watching keenly, and nothing must happen to Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom,” stressing that the governor represents the suffering and marginalised people of this country who are being slaughtered like animals by terrorists almost daily.”
It lamented that “Nigeria is in a coma and anyone who is pretending about it is living in self-denial” pointing out that “the government of President Muhammadu Buhari has failed the people of the country and his administration is clearly complicit in the spate of violence across the country and the killing of innocent people.”