Benue: ‘I’m not behind Ukpute-Bonta crisis’ – Rep David Ogewu

The member representing Oju/Obi Federal Constituency and Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Army, Rt. Hon. (Evang.) David Ogewu FCAI, has denied allegations from a group known as DIIV Progressive Agenda, led by Dr. James Amove Ukpoko, that he is involved in sponsoring the ongoing conflict between Ukpute and Bonta communities in Benue State.

He described these claims as unfounded, divisive, and an attempt to mislead the public, emphasizing his dedication to fostering peace and unity in the region.
In a statement by his media team, Ogewu reiterated his efforts to promote harmony between Ukpute and Bonta communities, citing his work with security agencies and motions in the National Assembly to bring attention to the crisis.
He commended Governor Hyacinth Alia’s ongoing peace efforts and has consistently encouraged community reconciliation.
His statement reads below.

The Honourable Member representing Oju/Obi Federal Constituency at the National Assembly and Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Army, Rt. Hon. (Evang.) David Ogewu FCAI, has described as divisive, distortionary, and misleading a purported press conference credited to an unknown group identified as DIIV PROGRESSIVE AGENDA and hosted by the group on November 1, 2024, under the leadership of one Dr. James Amove Ukpoko. Rt. Hon. Ogewu is particularly disturbed by the spurious claims made by the group against him and the unity of the people, alleging that he is a sponsor of the crisis and that he has used his position in the National Assembly to influence the operation of the military in the region. He wishes to categorically discard these allegations as false, distortionary, and a deliberate attempt to discredit his relentless efforts towards restoring peace to the region. For the avoidance of doubt, the Honourable Member wishes to make certain points clear on the matter:

Rt. Hon. David Agada Ogewu FCAI remains committed to engendering the unity, peace, and harmonious coexistence of the Ukpute and Bonta communities. He sees the lingering crisis as unfortunate and unnecessary and has continued to work with security agencies both within and outside Benue State for the sole purpose of peace and the return of normalcy to the warring communities. Rt. Hon. Ogewu has carried on with this mission by raising motions in the National Assembly to draw the attention of the relevant authorities to the crisis and to provide a framework for both the state and federal boundary commissions on the issue. He has also engaged with the Ukpute people on several occasions and urged them to embrace reconciliation in recognition of the efforts of Gov. Hyacinth Iormem Alia to resolve the issue permanently.

Rt. Hon. David Ogewu has been at the forefront of the advocacy for peaceful coexistence and amicable resolution of disputes in Oju/Obi Federal Constituency and will never fund or support violent clashes on any ground. This explains why he has continued to engage with security agencies, including the military, police, and other relevant authorities, in the drive to achieve peace in the region. He feels that the claims by the group that he sponsors the crisis are not only inciting but also point to an insidious ploy to frustrate efforts to achieve a lasting solution and restore permanent peace to the communities. He has therefore urged the group to join him in the drive for peaceful coexistence between the Bonta and Ukpute communities rather than stoke sentiments that would further weaken the bond of unity among the people.

Rt. Hon. David Ogewu has full confidence in the neutrality and professionalism of the Nigerian military, the police, and other military and paramilitary agencies involved in the peace mission in the region. He is particularly disturbed by the fact that the deliberate but misguided characterization of the efforts of the military in the crisis could put them at risk of frontal attacks by the Bonta militias, who have in recent past gruesomely killed about twelve soldiers on peacekeeping missions in cold blood. Rt. Hon. Ogewu considers this act heinous and capable of eroding the confidence of the locals in the security agents at a time when their services are needed the most.

The claim by the group that some students of the College of Education, Oju, have been killed in the crisis is false and misleading in its entirety, as those who previously claimed via social media posts that some former students of the school were abducted and killed on their way back from Oju have publicly recanted the claims with public apologies after the said persons returned home peacefully and were neither abducted nor harmed on their way to or from Oju. Moreover, there is no report anywhere that any student of the College of Education, Oju, has been disturbed openly or by cynical gestures in connection with the crisis between the Ukpute and Bonta communities. Neither has any Tiv person living within and around Oju and Obi LGAs had any reason to fear that he or she may be hurt as a result of the crisis. He sees the call for the relocation of the College of Education, Oju, by Dr. James Amove Ukpoko as delusional and chauvinistic, owing to the obvious fact that the school has a good mix of all three major tribes in Benue State today and has not recorded any incident of tribal dispute in recent memory.

Rt. Hon. David Ogewu believes strongly that the lingering crisis is not an ethnic war and holds the belief that every good-spirited individual should support the cause of peace rather than drum for ethnic coloration of the crisis, which could worsen the situation and inhibit the peace process. He has stated categorically that the advice for people to avoid the use of Oju-Awajir road while hostilities persist between the two communities is only a precautionary one. He has also stated that although he has used the road several times under security escort in the course of the crisis, he has become a victim of hostilities, as truckloads of fertilizers meant for his constituents have been seized and diverted by the Bonta militias on that same road. He recounted that his guests, who were coming to visit him during the just-concluded Igede-Agba celebration in September 2024, were held hostage and made to pay huge ransoms before they were released by the Bonta militias.

Rt. Hon. David Ogewu has been in constant communication with the Executive Governor of Benue State, Fr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia, and his deputy, Barr. Sam Ode, Mni, on this crisis and believes that the state government is committed to ending the incessant clashes in the region. Hence, his efforts at the national level are geared towards complementing the commitment of the state government on the issue. This is a fact that the Governor himself can easily attest to.

Relying on the above, Rt. Hon. David Ogewu has called on the group to downplay the clandestine ethnic motives and key into the reconciliatory process already initiated for the restoration of peace to the affected communities. He has also emphasized that Benue is already faced with external aggressions, and it is imperative that indigenes of the state live in harmony and work together to ward off external aggressions rather than engage in needless communal crises. He has applauded the Executive Governor of Benue State and his Deputy for the milestones already achieved in the crisis, particularly the resolutions from the peace meeting of November 1, 2024, where most of the resolutions that he procured at the National Assembly were adopted. He has therefore urged the National Boundary Commission and the state government to expedite actions towards the demarcation of the disputed boundary, even as he has enjoined the people of Ukpute and Bonta communities to honor the ceasefire agreement to enable the authorities to carry out the demarcation. He also emphasized that the existing geographical template domiciled at the Kaduna office of the National Boundary Commission should be applied appropriately to ensure transparency in the process.

Rt. Hon. Ogewu finds the personality and disposition of the self-acclaimed leader of DIIV PROGRESSIVE AGENDA, Dr. James Amove Ukpoko, to be untoward and detrimental to the course of peace between the war-torn communities of Ukpute and Bonta. He has noted that individuals like Dr. James Amove Ukpoko should be held responsible for inciting the militias to kill Nigerian soldiers in Bonta. He has therefore called on the Nigeria Police, the State Security Service, and the Nigerian Military to treat him as a hostile figure and place him under close monitoring to truncate his deleterious activities in the state.

As a Christian and a preacher of the gospel, Rt. Hon. (Evang.) David Ogewu holds a firm belief in love for one another. As the Bible says in 1 John 4:20, any man who claims to love God but hates his brother is a liar. He has therefore admonished the group and every concerned person in this issue to embrace love for one another over the desire for land ownership, as land will continue to remain even after the souls of everyone on earth today have returned to God. He has also emphasized that war leaves every actor a victim, hence the need to cultivate the culture of peaceful coexistence and amicable resolution of conflicts in the interest of common peace.