The immediate past governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, on Monday, criticised his successor, Hyacinth Alia, stating that in less than two years in office, Alia\u2019s administration has overseen numerous mass burials.<\/p>\n
Ortom\u2019s remarks were in response to Alia\u2019s accusation that his predecessor had failed to curb incessant mass killings during his tenure.<\/p>\n
Alia, while addressing a congregation at NKST Church, Ikpayongo, in Gwer East Local Government Area on Sunday, boasted that since assuming office, armed herders had stopped attacking and killing people in the state.<\/p>\n
The governor also accused his predecessor, Ortom, of feigning the 2021 assassination attempt on his life.<\/p>\n
\nHe claimed that under the previous administration, there were daily reports of mass killings by herdsmen but asserted that his tenure had brought absolute peace to the state, with people going about their normal activities without fear.<\/p>\n
Ortom responded through his media aide, Terver Akase, in a statement issued to journalists in Makurdi on Monday.<\/p>\n
The statement partly read: \u201cThere have been countless mass burials during Alia\u2019s administration in many parts of the state due to attacks by herdsmen in Zone A, Zone B, and Zone C, particularly in Ukum, Logo, Katsina-Ala, Kwande, Gwer East, Gwer West, Guma, Makurdi, Agatu, Otukpo, among others.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis government only attempts to conceal the truth about the killings and mass burials.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortom stated that what distinguished him from his successor was his firm stance against injustice and his fight against the agenda of pastoralists seeking to occupy Benue lands.<\/p>\n
The former governor added that despite threats to his life, intimidation, and outright deprivation by the then Federal Government, he remained resolute.<\/p>\n
The statement further read: \u201cHis unwavering stance eventually paid off, as many Nigerians began to appreciate his advocacy against open grazing and the introduction of ranching. His administration went on to enact a law banning open grazing in Benue State, to the chagrin of expansionists.\u201d<\/p>\n
While insisting that he had no regrets about his actions while in office, Ortom advised his successor to focus on fulfilling his promises to the people of Benue.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing a state governor is a transitory position. Tomorrow, he will also become a former governor. Ortom played his part and left the stage nearly two years ago. Governor Alia is now in charge, so he should take advantage of what he believes his predecessor failed to do and provide better service for the people,\u201d the statement concluded.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The immediate past governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, on Monday, criticised his successor, Hyacinth Alia, stating that in less than two years in office, Alia\u2019s administration has overseen numerous…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":116336,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n
Ortom slams Alia over mass burials, denies assassination claims - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ortom slams Alia over mass burials, denies assassination claims - Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The immediate past governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, on Monday, criticised his successor, Hyacinth Alia, stating that in less than two years in office, Alia\u2019s administration has overseen numerous…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-13T22:24:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Samuel-Ortom1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"601\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"399\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"headline\":\"Ortom slams Alia over mass burials, denies assassination claims\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-13T22:24:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/\"},\"wordCount\":412,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Samuel-Ortom1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/\",\"name\":\"Ortom slams Alia over mass burials, denies assassination claims - Pointblank News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Samuel-Ortom1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-13T22:24:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Samuel-Ortom1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Samuel-Ortom1.jpg\",\"width\":601,\"height\":399},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ortom slams Alia over mass burials, denies assassination claims\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\",\"name\":\"Pointblank News\",\"description\":\"Just the news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\",\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Our Reporter\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ortom slams Alia over mass burials, denies assassination claims - Pointblank News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ortom slams Alia over mass burials, denies assassination claims - Pointblank News","og_description":"The immediate past governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, on Monday, criticised his successor, Hyacinth Alia, stating that in less than two years in office, Alia\u2019s administration has overseen numerous…","og_url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/","og_site_name":"Pointblank News","article_published_time":"2025-02-13T22:24:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":601,"height":399,"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Samuel-Ortom1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Our Reporter","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Our Reporter","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/"},"author":{"name":"Our Reporter","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"headline":"Ortom slams Alia over mass burials, denies assassination claims","datePublished":"2025-02-13T22:24:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/"},"wordCount":412,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Samuel-Ortom1.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/","name":"Ortom slams Alia over mass burials, denies assassination claims - Pointblank News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Samuel-Ortom1.jpg","datePublished":"2025-02-13T22:24:39+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Samuel-Ortom1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Samuel-Ortom1.jpg","width":601,"height":399},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ortom-slams-alia-over-mass-burials-denies-assassination-claims\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ortom slams Alia over mass burials, denies assassination claims"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/","name":"Pointblank News","description":"Just the news","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c","name":"Our Reporter","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Our Reporter"},"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}