Former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom yesterday advised Governor Hyacinth Alia to follow President Bola Tinubu’s roadmap to address the deteriorating security situation in the state.

He also debunked Alia’s claims by that his administration recorded over four million internally displaced persons (IDPs). Ortom advised his predecessor and his team to stop playing games with the insecurity situation confronting the state.

He said: “People are being killed like animals by armed herders. “Trying to minimise the magnitude of the attacks by concealing casualty figures, the number of displaced persons, and making the attacks appear as mere communal clashes or skirmishes will not help solve the problem.

“Since the killing of innocent Benue people by armed herders intensified under Alia, the governor has peddled varying narratives regarding the attacks.

“At another instance, he claims the killings are reprisals because, according to him, Benue people rustled Fulani cows and were selling in wheelbarrows.”