The executive governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom has revealed that he would do anything that is lawfully possible to ensure there is a peaceful coexistence between the Tivs and Jukuns in Benue and Taraba states.

The governor made this known on Monday while receiving the report from Benue and Taraba Peace Committee, Benue Sub-committee led by Daniel Abbagu.

He said he was shocked by sustained hostilities between Tivs and Jukuns especially in Taraba, stressing that the two ethnic groups had lived peacefully together for decades before the ugly development.

Ortom said he and Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba had met several times and reached certain mutual agreements including the return of Moon and Chanchange communities to Benue and Taraba.

He noted that they had also agreed that any Jukun man living in Benue is an indigene of Benue and any Tiv man living in Taraba remains an indigene of Taraba, pointing out that the two ethnic nationalities had intermarried and had no justification for drawn-out hostilities.


Ortom praised the committee for a thorough work despite challenges, saying his administration would translate recommendations made by the committee into action that would engender peace between the two groups.

Chairman of the committee Daniel Abbagu had recommended the implementation of a 10-point agenda by the Federal Government in 1991 and 1992 and acceptance of citizenship status to all warring communities in Taraba and Benue.