Before Commentators Risk Subjudice On Gov. Sule's Case Against Prof. Gundu!

Before a court of jurisdiction convicts one who comments on the case of defamation Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has filed against Professor Zacharys Gundu, the Vice Chancellor of University of Mkar in Gboko, let the court and Sule know that there is nothing is new about the accusation of Nasarawa State Government providing allegedly the safe heavens for armed herders to kill people in communities of Benue State!

Reports provide that the killing of Benue people started many years ago and continues while authorities in Benue accuse the Nasarawa counterpart of synergizing with terrorists to crossover and murder Benue people!

What looks new about the ugly situation however is the trendy narrative by Governor Sule that Professor Gundu has lied by accusing the Nasarawa State Government of complicity on the attacks by the terrorists who disguise as herders. Sule has given Gundu seven days to retract the said defamatory comment with apologize and that failure would resort to litigation for redress! 

Analysts see the demand for retraction as mere busybody action likely to make Governor Sule appear before Professor Gundu as Goliath in the presence of David in the battle field the holy Bible takes into account.

The history of attacks by the armed herders has recorded suspicions of betrayal the government of Benue State has for the Nasarawa State counterpart.that she houses allegedly the herdsmen who sneak into Benue to cause havoc! The said conspiracy pitched Suswam and Ortom administrations against those Nasarawa State authorities. 

The fact that the herdsmen attempted to take the former Governor Gabriel Suswam hostage when they crossed over Nasarawa into Benue the territories, yet, the authorities from that state did nothing symbolized the conspiracy!

Suswam accused Ex Governor Tanko Almakura of giving Giza in Keana Local Government Area of the State to terrorists as their base for preparation to attack communities in Benue State!

The immediate past Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom also accused his Nasarawa counterpart, Almakura of the alleged hosting of the armed herders in Tungwa, Awe Local Council of the state which Ortom insisted that attackers retreated to Tungwa after the murders, but the government of Nasarawa State did nothing to justify the innocence she claims to be.

To above situation appears to prove the guilt Nasarawa State authorities have on continuous attacks by herdsmen worthy of the accusations of invading Benue as exemplified on the 1st of January 2018 when the terrorists came into Benue and killed over seventy innocent people. 

As the concern rose about the neighbouring Nasarawa over her betrayal which led to the genocidal massacres of the Benue people, the Ortom administration conducted mass burial for the deceased. The trend worried Governors from the North Central to meet in Makurdi the state capital. Sule as Governor of Nasarawa State attended the meeting too 

The communique was issued at the communique and called on the military to flush armed herders out of the forests in the region including the ones in Nasarawa State that have accommodated allegedly the killer herdsmen. 

Fueled by the request from the Governors to the military for driving the criminals out of the forests, Akwanaja in Doma Local Government Area of the State went into confusion amidst explosions that targeted believably terrorists within the forest.

After the reported operation, Ortom was accused of the blast, but rebutting the claim, he quoted the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Musa Danmadami's press statement as defence. Part of it read "what I can tell you is that we are very professional in the conduct of our operations. They are also intelligence driven. Also, our code of conduct and standard of operations are in tandem with international best practices."

On a related development, the President of the Middle Belt Forum, Dr. Bitrus Pogu has joined the league of those accusing Nasarawa State of housing the criminals to terrorize some states in the region. Speaking on the Arise News programm, Pogu stated that many camps existed for armed herders in Nasarawa State "where Benue is attached, where Plateau is attacked, where Southern Kaduna is attacked, where Taraba is attacked, all or majority of the camps are in Nasarawa State!"

It beats imagination also that Governor Sule threatens to sue Professor Gundu for alleged defamation when this same Governor has been indicated by the leader of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Abdullahi Bodejo of sponsoring establishment of a Fulani militia group in Nasarawa state? 

These examples signify the conspiracy Nasarawa State authorities have against Benue population under the Governor, Abdullahi Sule so difficult to prove his innocence on the liability he wants to push onto Professor Gundu. No Nigerian court will not hesitate to quash the defamation charge against the accused!