THE Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, has ordered all criminals harassing locals to leave the state or face arrest.
The directive was given today by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Sir Tersoo Kula, in Makurdi.
Alia also denied the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) assertion that a Fulani man was killed during a criminal attack on livestock traders in the state’s Katsina-Ala local government area.
He urged the PDP to help him in bringing development to the state rather than generating animosity and ethnic strife.
He warned that if criminals in Benue remained in the state, they would face harsh punishment.
The governor further directed that security agencies and traditional rulers in the state ensure the arrest and prosecution of people behind the attack.
Alia said: “The allegation by the PDP that it was Fulani herders that were attacked and killed is patently false and a figment of its blurry imagination which is obviously a decoy to mislead the unsuspecting public.
“The public is hereby urged to disregard such blanket falsehood which is the usual antics of the PDP drawn from its familiar tone.
“It has to be clearly stated that what happened at Nyihemba was purely a criminal act and the perpetrators must be punished to serve as a deterrent to others.
“It is therefore mischievous for the PDP to interpret the incident as though it was an assault targeted at cattle traders.”
