By Sunday Ogli, Makurdi
The Ochetoha K’Idoma Forum Worldwide, the apex socio-cultural organisation of the Idoma Nation, has condemned the killing of Fulani community leader, Ardo Risku Mohammed, and Mr Yakubu Isah in Ohimini Local Government Area of Benue State, calling for a thorough investigation and prosecution of those responsible.
In a statement signed by its President General, Professor Yakubu Aboki Ochefu, and Secretary General, Chief Paul Edeh, the forum described the killings as a tragic incident that should not go unpunished. It urged security agencies to identify arrest and prosecute the perpetrators in line with the law.
According to the organisation, both victims had attended a peace and security meeting convened by the police before they were reportedly attacked and killed.
The forum expressed condolences to the bereaved families, the Fulani community in Ohimini and beyond, and all those who looked to Ardo Risku Mohammed for leadership.
“We condemn this act in the strongest possible terms. There is no circumstance, no grievance and no history that justifies the taking of innocent life. The men who carried out this killing must be identified, arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the law, irrespective of their identity, community or standing,” the statement read.
While mourning the victims, Ochetoha K’Idoma said the incident also highlights the prolonged insecurity that has affected Idomaland over the past decade. It noted that numerous communities had suffered repeated attacks, leaving farmers dead, women assaulted, children orphaned and many families displaced.
The organisation observed that despite the losses suffered by Idoma communities, expressions of solidarity from Fulani socio-cultural leadership had largely been absent. It, however, stressed that the remark was intended to promote equal empathy for all victims of violence rather than diminish the current tragedy.
“We mention this not in bitterness, and not to set one grave against another. We mention it because lasting peace in Benue cannot be built upon selective grief. Today, we extend the moral gesture that our own bereaved have so often awaited,” the statement added.
The forum also rejected attempts to hold the Idoma people collectively responsible for the killings, insisting that criminal responsibility should remain personal until investigations establish the identities and motives of those involved.
It maintained that just as it has consistently opposed the stereotyping of all Fulani people over attacks carried out by criminal elements, it would equally reject any effort to blame the entire Idoma Nation for the actions of unidentified suspects.
“Criminality belongs to no tribe and to no community. Justice that is selective is not justice,” the organisation stated.
Ochetoha K’Idoma urged citizens, commentators and media organisations to avoid inflammatory narratives capable of escalating ethnic tensions.
The organisation also criticised successive federal and state governments over what it described as their failure to effectively tackle insecurity in Benue State.
It said repeated appeals through letters, meetings and public engagements had yielded little improvement.
