The Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives has asked the country’s security agencies to arrest and prosecute those involved in the attack on Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State.
Ndudi Godwin Elumelu, the leader of the Caucus in the House, declared this in a statement on Monday, noting that the said caucus“is alarmed by the brazen assassination attempt on the Governor of Benue State, Dr. Samuel Ortom”.
Elumelu described the attempt at Ortom’s life “as another daring attempt by the criminal elements to destabilize the state,” calling for a full-scale investigation into the unfortunate incidence with a view to bringing the assailants and their masterminds, no matter how highly placed to justice.
“We are alarmed by this brazen attempt by outlaws to assassinate a democratically elected governor in our country. It is indeed disturbing that outlaws, bandits and terrorists have been so indulged that they now have the temerity to fire shots at and attempt to assassinate a democratically elected governor.
“Moreover, our caucus is distressed by the disposition of certain state actors, whose actions, utterances, and body language appear to embolden acts terrorism to the extent that criminal elements can summon the audacity to trail and attempt to assassinate a state governor. “Furthermore, the attack on Governor Ortom has again brought to the fore, apprehensions of alleged lapses in our security architecture, particularly given that the attack came on the heels of his continuous distress call to the Federal Government to take decisive steps to guarantee the security of life and property in his state.
“As representatives of the people, our caucus charges the Inspector General of Police to widen investigation into the attack, fish out and bring the attackers to book, as our nation cannot, in any way, stomach such affront to our sovereignty”.
The caucus expressed satisfaction with the performance of the security personnel attached to Governor Ortom for their gallantry in repelling the attackers, while also charging the Inspector General to beef up security and intelligence gathering around the governor at this critical time”.
The Caucus renewed its support for “Governor Ortom and the people of Benue state and charged the governor not to be deterred by the attack but to remain courageous in discharging his duties to his people”.
