Igbo youth leaders under the auspices of Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, COSEYL, have thrown their weight behind Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue State on his position on some burning national issues including open grazing, Nnamdi Kanu, and Sunday Ighoho.

The governor had criticised the federal government for allegedly handling bandits and Fulani herdsmen with kid gloves while using sledge hammer on freedom seekers like Kanu and Ighoho.

Governor Ortom, a strong advocate of ban of open grazing also called for building of ranches where such is practicable.

Ortom in the recent national television live interview, asked the federal government why it had not deployed the same logistics and technology in tracking bandits and Fulani herdsmen ravaging communites across the country as it did in arresting Kanu and Ighoho outside the shores of Nigeria.

COSEYL in a press release by its President General Goodluck Ibem and Secretary General Kanice Igwe, hailed Ortom for his courage to speak out, as well as his continued defense for his people at the risk of his political interest.

The group challenged other governors to emulate Ortom and fearlessly speak up in defense of their people irrespective of their political affiliation.

COSEYL told political office holders to stop sacrificing the interest of their people on the altar of political correctness.

” We express our solidarity for the outspoken governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom on his position on banning of open grazing, Kanu and Ighoho”.

COSEYL argued that no self-determination seeking group had committed the kind of atrocities perpetrated by bandits and Fulani herdsmen, yet the federal government had handled the agitators with brute force instead of engaging them.

READ ALSO 2023 Igbo Presidency: Adeseye propagating falsehood against Ndigbo — Ohanaeze

“In Nigeria, there is no place where separatist agitators have raped, killed, or sacked communities in the manner and measure Boko Haram and the armed Fulani herdsmen have done, yet the federal government keeps granting them amnesty, reintegrating these fiendish elements into the mainstream population – including into our military.

” It’s not fair that the federal government keeps pardoning terrorists while keeping in custody freedom seekers.

“We share in Governor Ortom’s position which reveals how selective the President Buhari administration has been in justice administation.

“After killing and sacking communities, the federal government does nothing to rehabilitate the victims but quick to pardon the killers.”

COSEYL said that only justice and fair play could keep Nigeria united as one entity while challenging the federal government to be fair to all.

“If the federal government could leverage security cooperation with its “allies” to track Kanu and Ighoho, why hasn’t it recovered the ungoverned space like Sambisa forest and other forests within the Niger, Katsina and Kaduna axis where bandits have turned to their fiefdom?

” Yet we are under a government that pardons sworn terrorists, abductors of minors (girls mostly), murderers of missionary workers, killers of soldiers and destroyers of military gadgets including our Alpha Jets.