Ortom seeks justice for slain Benue pastors

The effort followed the release of a four-year-old boy taken hostage from the Ochoro community

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has urged security operatives to arrest and bring to justice those responsible for the killing of two pastors, Moses Ijoko and Emmanuel Aleje, in Ochoro community, Konshisha Local Government Area of the state.

They were hacked to death a few days ago in Ochoro, an Igede community located in Tiv dominated Konshisha LGA, where local militias allegedly struck recently following the escalation of violence between Bonta and neighbouring Ukpute community of Oju LGA.

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While Ukpute, an Igede community in Oju LGA and Bonta community in Konshisha had a long-standing dispute over land ownership, the Ochoro community had remained neutral.

The state government had, about three weeks ago, restored what it thought was final peace among the villagers.

The effort followed the release of a four-year-old boy taken hostage from the Ochoro community and later handed to his parents shortly after Governor Ortom awarded the boy scholarship up to the university level.

Local sources, however, said the peace process may have again been truncated last Tuesday when the deceased, who were on a motorcycle to the hospital were allegedly killed by some militias.

Ortom, who spoke in a statement issued by his spokesman, Terver Akase, urged security operatives to bring the culprits to justice.

The governor urged the chairman of Konshisha LGA and other stakeholders in the area to ensure that the killers and their sponsors were apprehended to face justice.

He warned that those jeopardising the state government’s efforts to end the crisis between Konshisha and Oju would be made to face the wrath of the law.