Ortom under fire for calling Mohammed “a terrorist”

Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has fired back at his Benue State counterpart, Samuel Ortom, for describing him as a terrorist over his comment lingering herdsmen crisis.

Mohammed said Ortom was taking his “well known” and “unfortunate theatrics” to a dangerous level by making “unfounded and grave allegations.”

The Bauchi governor said Ortom, at a press conference last Monday, among other things, described him as a terrorist, sponsoring those he described as “Fulani terrorist herdsmen.”

But, in a statement through his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mukhtar Gidado, Mohammed said though he had resolved not to join issues with Ortom, it would be irresponsible of him to ignore the “two unfortunate claims”.

He challenged Ortom to substantiate his claims that he was in cahoots with anybody to kill him.
Mohammed said it was natural for both of them to disagree, but that did not make them enemies or provide an alibi for allegations that border on extreme criminality.

The statement said: “We are therefore, shocked that Governor Ortom could, in good conscience, address a fellow governor whom he had described as a brother, as a terrorist and who should, to wit, be placed under watch should anything untoward happen to him (Ortom).

“We want to state that Governor Ortom has carried the unfortunate theatrics, for which he is well known, to a very precipitous level of brinkmanship.”

Mohammed, it added, conceded to Ortom the right to reply, but that “the Benue State governor has over-personalised the matter, thereby reducing the debate to a level of toxicity that is neither healthy for the country nor helpful to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).”