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Tag: Herdsmen

  • NSCDC arrest two herdsmen for invading farms in Ekiti

    The Ekiti state commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Mr. Solomon Iyamu said two herdsmen were arrested on Tuesday for invading farmlands with cows in the state.

    The NSCDC boss said the arrest of the suspects were made possible through a joint operation of the Agro Rangers Unit of the command, Nigeria Army, Police, Ekiti State Anti-Grazing Agency and men of Vigilante Group of Nigeria (GVN).

    The operation which he said lasted for about six hours along took place at Ago Aduloju and Ogbese axis of Ise-Orun and Gbonyin local government areas of the state.

    Iyamu explained that the herdsmen were arrested following a tip off that herders had invaded some farms along Ado/Ijan in search of pasture to feed their cows.

    He added that the arrested herdsmen will be charge to court as soon as investigation is completed, appealing to farmers in Ekiti to continue to be law abiding and always report any perceived herders’ threat to the men of Agro Rangers Unit for prompt action.

    He, however, lauded the Joint Operations for the collaborative work, urging them not to relent in the discharge of their mandates.

    He equally commended the NSCDC Commandant General, Abdullah Muhammadu for his decisive efforts geared towards solving farmers/herders clash across the country through the establishment of Agro-Rangers Unit.

  • Nigeria loses $14b annually to farmers, herders clashes – Fayemi

    Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has said Nigeria loses $14 billion yearly to the lingering farmer-herdsmen clashes.
    Fayemi spoke on Thursday while delivering a paper, titled: Farmer-Herder Conflicts in Nigeria: Implications for National Security, at the National Institute for Security Studies (NISS) Executive Management Course in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
    The governor called for the enactment of appropriate states and Federal legislative frameworks and strategies to resolve farmer-herder conflicts and the attendant loss of lives and property.
    He also canvassed the need for effective and strategic communications of government policies on this and other national issues to ensure that the right messaging reaches the citizenry and save the country from avoidable crises.
    Fayemi said the extent of the challenge requires that government moves to unpack what has become a major threat to peaceful coexistence and food security in the country.
    The governor noted that the fatalities recorded from the farmer-herder clashes outnumber those of the devastating insurgency in the Northeast and led to the loss of more lives in Nigeria than in the rest of West Africa.
    Dr Fayemi, who called for the enactment of state and Federal laws to foster peaceful coexistence, despite the nation’s diversity, added that such legislations on regulating the conduct of farmers and herders must have a human face and must harness the country’s economic and socio-cultural potentials.
    This is also in addition to ensuring that law breakers do not escape punishment, the governor said.
    According to him, political leaders must bear in mind socio-cultural and political sensitivities while communicating policies with the citizenry.
    This, Fayemi said, would make them avoid the risk of leaving those policies to faulty interpretations and susceptible to politicisation.
    The lecture was attended by participants from the security and para-military agencies attending the Executive Intelligence Management Course at the institute.
    The governor posited that beyond Nigeria, farmers-herders conflict has also become a threat to sub-regional and continental peace and stability for its devastating effects on human fatalities, livelihoods and the economy.
    Other devastating effects, according to him, include banditry, cattle rustling, proliferation of small arms and light weapons as well as extreme violence.
    He said: “As political and policymakers, we must be humble enough to admit that the messaging around the farmer-herder crisis, in terms of being mindful of sensitivities and the use of polarising terminologies and concepts, leaves room for improvement.
    “From the evolution of the discourse on major issues, such as the anti-grazing laws, which have been passed into law in Ekiti, Benue and Taraba states, to colonies, the Ruga settlement phenomenon, the ranching options, we have not done enough to properly manage the various narratives or interpretations that emerged from this problem.”

  • Herdsmen activities: Reps move to criminalise open grazing

    The House of Representatives has called for the criminalisation of open grazing as it affects the security of lives, property and food production in the country.
    This was sequel to a unanimous adoption of ”Urgent Motion of Public Importance” by Rep. Ben Igbakpa (PDP-Delta) in the plenary on Thursday.
    Igbakpa said that Ethiope Federal Constituency is made up of Ethiope-East and Ethiope-West a linear settlement along the Shores of river Ethiope.
    He said the area is a predominantly agrarian and was well known for the production of all stable food like cassava, plantain and yams.
    ”An agrarian society is any community which economy is based on producing and maintaining crops and farmland,” he explained
    The rep said that Delta State University is situated in Abraka in Ethiope-East Local Government Area (LGA) which has enable many of the lecturers engage in farming on part-time basis.
    He alleged that between 2014 and 2018, a total of 36 persons were killed, including four lecturers in their farmland by herdsmen.
    “In this year 2019, a total of eight persons have been gruesomely murdered for daring to insist that the herdsmen should not graze on their farms.
    “Not single prosecutions of the culprits have been recorded to serve as a deterrent,” he said.
    Igbakpa said that on July 2, the entire Local Government Area of Ethiope-East woke up into mourning and grief.
    He said that farmlands of over 100 hectares, cultivated with cassava, yam, maize and plantain were allegedly brought down to ruin by dare-devil herdsmen.
    The lawmaker alleged that the herdsmen were bearing arms and threatening to deal with anybody who challenged them.
    The legislator said that the herdsmen claimed that they “own Abuja” even as they operate in Delta.
    He recalled that Ovre village in Delta and Ewosi village which is a border town to Edo had been forcefully abandoned by the communities to herdsmen for fear of incessant killings and destruction of crops.
    “The continued nomadic activities into the communities of Abraka, Eku and environs for grazing are a total call for anarchy which cannot be tolerated.
    “If these ugly and dastardly acts are not checked, having gradually eroded the source of livelihood of the people of Ethiope Federal Constituency particularly Abraka, Eku, Oghara, Jesse and Mosogar communities, there will be likelihood of discouraging potential investors.
    “It is ruining the comparative agricultural advantage in these areas and the activities of the herdsmen have continued to cause panic, palpable fear and tension on the people who are now afraid to go to farms in search of their daily bread and sustenance.
    “No doubt this will lead to hunger, poverty, malnutrition and ultimately refugees in their own ancestral land,” he said.
    Igbakpa said that in spite of the effect on food security and the inherent adverse economic effect on the people, the activities of these herdsmen if not checked could result in self-help by the local communities.
    According to him, the nefarious activities of these herdsmen have continued unabated for over five years now with largely and devastating consequences as it progresses.
    The parliamentarian said that there is an urgent need for a more robust and sustainable approach to solving the problem by all stakeholders.
    “Section 14(2) of the 1998Constitution ria (as amended) provides that the welfare and security of the people shall be the primary responsibility of the government.
    “The people of Ethiope West/East want to see that the Federal Government of Nigeria has not failed in their constitutional duties to secure them.
    “The constitutionally guaranteed freedom of movement of the good people of Abraka, Jesse, Mosogar, Oghara and Okpara, all in Ethiope Federal Constituency seems to have been eroded and no longer guaranteed in view of the nefarious activities of the herdsmen,” he said.
    According to him, the people can no longer move around freely to the extent that some roads including Sakpoba and Ovre are no-go areas having been deserted for fear of attack by the herdsmen.
    The house urged the security agencies to, as a matter of urgency, midwife a meeting of stakeholders in Ethiope Federal Constituency and leaders of the herdsmen to douse the tension and find a lasting solution to this recurring security milieu.
    The green chambers urged the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, the Federal Ministry of Information and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to enlighten herdsmen to endeavour to limit grazing to areas allowed.
    The lower chambers tasked the agencies on the need to reorient the herdsmen to understand that ranching should be a compulsory component of cattle herding in Nigeria in the interest peace with the host communities.
    The parliamentarian urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other regulatory authorities as a matter of urgency provide food items and relief materials to the identified victims of the wanton destruction.

  • Killer herdsmen must leave Southwest now or face hostility – Afenifere

    The Pan-Yoruba Socio-political organisation, Afenifere has ordered killer Fulani herdsmen to leave Southwest now or face serious confrontation.
    The organisation stated that about 30,000 people had been killed due to activities of killer herdsmen between 2015 and 2019.
    At a news conference on Wednesday in Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, one of the leaders of Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo said the decision was taken following the killing of the daughter of Afenifere’s leader, Reuben Fasoranti, Olufunke Olakunrin by suspected herdsmen.
    Adebanjo warned the National Assembly “not to amend the Land Use Act with the intent to change the predominance of land allocation in states to the federal government to allow RUGA’s implementation. We demand their immediate exit from Yoruba land. If they refused to leave in reasonable time, we will not stop our people from confronting them.
    “Yoruba land has now become the epicenter of the terror of these Fulani marauders and our people are fed up with the shedding of innocent blood that is quite anathema to our respect for human life which would see us remembering those who died peacefully 50 years down the line.”
    He expressed disappointment with the refusal of the federal government to allow elected governors have state police, while on the other hand permitting the setting up Fulani bandit -vigilantes on Yoruba soil in addition to the Fulani militias terrorising the same land.
    “We are miffed that those who will not allow our elected governors have police are now setting up Fulani bandit -vigilantes on our soil in addition to the Fulani militias terrorizing our land,” he said.
    He, therefore, lamented that about 30,000 people “have been killed by the Fulani herdsmen/militia across the country between 2015 and 2019. Apart from not bringing them to book, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has taken so many steps which betray the encouragement being given to these troublers of Nigeria.”
    “We cannot continue to live under these conditions. The blood of our people will no longer be used to water the tree of a dysfunctional unitary order,” he added.
    Adebanjo called for an immediate timeline for a return to a federalist Nigeria that would allow for autonomy for each state to run its internal affairs, saying that the activities of Fulani herdsmen/bandits/kidnappers and other miscreants would have been effectively dealt with if the governors as Chief Security officers of their states had control of the security agencies.
    He said with the current proposed security budget for 2019 is N1.76 trillion, a devolved entity would have enabled better utilization of part of that expenditure; particularly in the over N300b for policing which was further subsidised by the state governments’ additional allocations and over N600b intended for internal affairs.
    According to Adebanjo, the past few years had been troubling for the country as “we have witnessed mass killings of people in the country, most of which have been linked to Fulani herdsmen/militia and the Nigerian state has not been able to dispel the allegations by unraveling the brains behind the killings and applying the law against them.
    “We demand an immediate timeline for a return to a federalist Nigeria so that we can have autonomy to run our internal affairs and failure to do so will constrain our capacity to continue to restrain our people from embracing self-determination.
    “We task the government to find the real killers of Olakunrin and not the innocent people that the communities around where she was killed have alleged are being randomly arrested and put an end to the genocide in our zone and across the country.”
    Adebanjo said the federal government had been careless and insensitive in the handling the menace of Fulani herdsmen in the country.
    “First, it was outright denial it was engaged in by saying those carrying AK-47 riffles about and killing people were foreign Fulani. The President specifically said they were Gaddafi’s men let loose from Libya and yet they were not arresting them.
    “Next they moved to accuse people of spreading hate speech against the local Fulani. It got to a ridiculous stage that when Miyetti Allah is accused of any crime, it is either the Ministry of Information or Presidential spokespersons becoming the mouthpiece of the group. It is now clear we Yoruba have had enough-as the Ooni of Ife, Alaafin of Oyo and Prof Wole Soyinka and other Yoruba patriots have warned,” he said.
    However, Adebanjo addressed the conference alongside other Afenifere leaders, including Prof Banji Akintoye, Prof. Akin Osuntokun, Dr. Femi Okunrounmu, Chief Supo Shonibare, Alhaji Sola Lawal and Mr. Yinka Odumakin.

  • Northern Elders orders Fulani herdsmen to leave Southern Nigeria

    Members of the Northern Elders Forum and the Coalition of the Northern Groups have asked Fulani herdsmen to leave the southern part of Nigeria.
    They said the herdsmen should return to the North where their (herdsmen) safety and that of their property could be guaranteed.
    The northern elders and the youths said they were worried that some southern leaders had allegedly openly threatened war against the Fulani herdsmen.
    They claimed that for this reason, all the herdsmen from the North living in the South should return home.
    Recall that the controversial Ruga policy suspended by the Federal Government generated various reactions with southern leaders rejecting it.
    The southern leaders had argued that it was wrong for the Federal Government to take people’s land by force and give it to herdsmen who were operating personal businesses.
    The rejection was further fuelled by kidnappings and killings of innocent men and women by the suspected herdsmen.
    Also, the Coalition of the Northern Groups had given the Federal Government a 30-day ultimatum to resolve the objection raised by the southern leaders.
    However, at a press conference after a meeting of the NEF with the CNGs on Tuesday night in Abuja, where the youths demanded the return of all the Fulani herders to the North, the NEF’s chairman, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, also backed the youth’s position.
    However, Abdullahi said the call on the herders to retrun to the North was borne out of the alleged realisation that their lives had allegedly been put at risk due to the recent actions and utterances of the southern governors.
    Abdullahi said, “We are worried about their well-being. If it is true that their safety can no longer be guaranteed, we rather have them back in areas where their safety is guaranteed.
    “The bottom line is that their safety is far more important than their stay there. This is a country we all wish to keep together but not at the expense of other sections.”
    Abdullahi, who is a former vice-chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, also called for the establishment of a judicial enquiry that would be saddled with the responsibility of determining the quantum of loss of properties by herdsmen and farmers.
    This, he said, should be done with a view to paying compensation due to each of the warring parties.
    Also speaking at the event, the CNG’s spokesperson, Abdul-Aziz Sulaiman, who presented the position of the northern youths to the elders, alleged that the southern governors had on July 9, 2019, jointly agreed to stop the movement of herders and cattle in the South.
    He also said the governors even arrogated to themselves powers to decide which category of herdsmen could be allowed to live in the South and others whom he said they allegedly tagged as criminals.
    Sulaiman also regretted that herdsmen were being blamed for the killing of Mrs Funke Olakunri, daughter of the Afenifere leader, Chief Reuben Fasoranti.
    He said this was wrong as the culprits had yet to be identified.
    He noted, “Throwing caution to the winds, Gani Adams, Fani-Kayode, Yinka Odumakin and a host of other southern regionalists shamelessly insisted on changing the narratives around the killing of the Fasoranti lady.
    “In the process, they threatened all forms of violations and breaches against northerners including the threat of an all-out war.
    “With all these statements and steps taken by the southern governors and opinion leaders, we are worried that none of the northern governors or federal official has deemed it apt to caution them.
    “The failure or neglect of the police to trace a connection between the Fasoranti daughter’s murder and the seeming prearranged conduct of Fani-Kayode, Odumakin and Adams by their haste to shift the blame in order to render the Fulani object of attack is certainly suspicious.
    “We are concerned about the sincerity of the Federal Government in implementing the NLTP going by the manner previous efforts at executing developmental projects like the Mambila hydro-electric power project and several initiatives on the herdsmen dilemma were invariably stalled.
    “We are equally worried that the NLTP is vested in the office of the vice-president that is believed to have frustrated previous projects meant for the North.
    “We find it difficult to trust the commitments of this government ,which has for the past four years, failed to execute any positive initiative towards resolving the herders’ problems nor shown any encouraging concern for the dilemma of the Fulani who have been attacked in various states.
    “Based on the above observations sir, and the fact that the instigation of hatred against the Fulani persists, we feel obliged to advise the leadership of the Northern Elders Forum to consider calling on the Fulani to forgo their right to live and flourish anywhere in the South and relocate to their various states in the North to ensure their safety.”

  • Enough is enough of herdsmen killings in Southwest – Ooni

    Enough is enough of herdsmen killings in Southwest – Ooni

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi has declared that the South West has heard enough of the killing by the herdsmen.
    He declared it was time for the region to be united in purpose in combating the security challenges headlong.
    Oba Ogunwusi, who spoke on Sunday in Kota Ekiti, Ekiti East Local Government area of Ekiti State, at the thanksgiving ceremony of Olufemi Bamisile, who represents Ekiti South Federal Constituency 11 in the House of Representatives.
    He said Yoruba people could no longer fold its hand and allow people to be killed, urging the Yoruba people to unite and defend itself against bandits from killing people.
    “I call on all the people of Yoruba race at this time to be united. The time has come end this killing. This killings must end, enough is enough.
    “We could no longer fold our hand and allow people to be killed. So, we must be united at this time and protect our territory,” Ooni added.
    Bishop Diocese of Ekiti, Reverend Emmanuel Abejide of Methodist Church Nigeria, Ekiti State, declared that the current security situation in the country was unfortunate.
    He warned that unless the leaders put on their thinking caps things might get worse.
    He said: “W have failed so much. Many of our political leaders have failed to develop our potential. If by God give you have opportunity to be in a position, its by God grace please use it for the benefit of mankind “.
    As for Bamisile, he said that the various stakeholders in the South West are already talking, adding that the region would defend itself against any aggression.
    “The death of Pa Fasoranti’s daughter is one of the greatest mistake that ever happened in the South West. With the step that we are taking, we are moving ahead to stop the killings. “

  • Watch video: Nnenwe residents chase herders out of town

    Following the unpleasant activities of herdsmen in their community, Nnenwe residents in Enugu State have decided to act on their own by chasing out herders from their town.
    Watch the video below:

  • Presidency condemns outrage against proposed 'RUGA' settlements, says it is 'voluntary'

    Presidency condemns outrage against proposed 'RUGA' settlements, says it is 'voluntary'

    The Presidency has frowned at recent unhelpful comments regarding the plan to stop roaming of cattle herders with the attendant clashes with farmers via the establishment of ‘Ruga Settlement’ across the country.
    “Ruga Settlement” seeks to settle migrant pastoral families.
    It simply means rural settlement in which animal farmers, not just cattle herders, would be settled in an organised place with provision of necessary and adequate basic amenities.
    Such amenities include schools, hospitals, road networks, veterinary clinics, markets and manufacturing entities that would process and add value to meats and animal products.
    Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, explained that beneficiaries of the Ruga Settlement would include all persons in animal husbandry, not only Fulani herders.
    He said: ”The Federal Government is planning this in order to curb open grazing of animals that continue to pose security threats to farmers and herders.
    ”The overall benefit to the nation includes a drastic reduction in conflicts between herders and farmers.
    ”A boost in animal protection complete with a value chain that will increase the quality and hygiene of livestock in terms of beef and milk production, increased quality of feeding and access to animal care and private sector participation in commercial pasture production by way of investments.”
    According to the presidential aide, other gains of the scheme are job creation, access to credit facilities, security for pastoral families and curtailment of cattle rustling.
    Shehu dismissed the insinuation that Federal Government planned to seize state land or force state governments to embrace the scheme.
    ”Stripped of the politics and howling that has attended the recent comments, there is no government plan to seize state land, colonize territory or impose Ruga on any part of the federation.
    ”Government has made it clear time and again that the programme is voluntary,” he said.
    Shehu also revealed that so far, 12 states had applied to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, making lands available for the take-off of the scheme in their states, adding that the number would be sufficient for the pilot scheme.
    ”Unfortunately, some state governments that have not signified interest in the scheme and, therefore, are not on the invitation list have been misleading people that the Federal Government is embarking on a scheme to take away their lands.
    ”Mostly, these are state leaders that have no explanation to offer their people for continued non-payment of workers’ salaries.
    ”It is true that government at the centre has gazetted lands in all states of the federation but because the idea is not to force this programme on anyone, the government has limited the take-off to the dozen states with valid requests.
    The presidential spokesman, therefore, urged states to partner with federal government in encouraging all sides to these conflicts to make efforts towards finding a peaceful resolution.
    ”As we seek a permanent solution to these unwanted conflicts, efforts must be made to ensure that no innocent person faces any kind of deprivation or loss of right and freedom under our laws,” he added.

  • Tension in Ekiti as suspected Fulani herdsmen kill local hunter

    Tension in Ekiti as suspected Fulani herdsmen kill local hunter

    Palpable tension gripped residents of Orin-Ekiti in Ido/Osi Local Government Area of Ekiti State on Saturday following the murder of a hunter by suspected fulani herdsmen in the town.

    The hunter, Emmanuel Ilori was said to have been killed at the midnight while hunting for animals with some of his colleagues.

    This gory incident occurred barely 48hrs after a female undergraduate identified as Maria was killed in her father’s farm in Ise-Ekiti by unknown gunmen.

    Mr. Adeniyi Ajayi, a hunter escaped during the incident alleged that Ilori was killed by Fulani herdsmen.

    Ajayi said: “We met the herdsmen numbering about thirty in the abandoned piggery farm in the town.

    “And we attempted to inquire about what they were doing in the farm. Suddenly, they brought out rifles shooting at our direction.Thus, resulting to the death of Mr. Ilori”.

    The lucky hunter claimed that the herdsmen were kidnappers using the forest as hideout to perpetrate heinous acts.

    It was gathered that the corpse of the hunter have been taken away by security officers for further investigation.

    The residents of the community dropped out in large numbers to staged a protest over the incident.

    They barricaded the major roads and made burn fire to express their displeasure over the killing.

    Addressing journalists during the protest, High chief Francis Falua and Chairman of Rice Farmers in Ekiti State, Mr kolawole Rotimi berated the uncontrollable attacks by the Fulani herdsmen in the community.

    They disclosed that few months back the ‘evil genius’ herdsmen allegedly killed a pregnant woman and her unborn baby.

    They, however, appealed to Governor Kayode Fayemi to take proactive steps to curtail the lingering herdsmen menace in the State before it get out of hand.

    When contacted, the Ekiti Police Command Spokesman, DSP Caleb Ikechukwu confirmed the incident, saying they have put in place watertight security architecture to comb the forest and arrest the perpetrators.

  • Herdsmen: I’m a warrior, I can still roll out one million Yoruba for battle – Gani Adams

    The Aare Ona Kankanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams has warned Fulani herdsmen that he is a warrior and can still roll out one million Yoruba people for battle.

    Adams was speaking in Ibadan, Oyo State on Thursday at the convergence of Yoruba leaders to honour the memory and legacies of late Obafemi Awolowo at the book presentation of the Yoruba translation of his autobiography, titled: ‘Awo’ by Alaroye.

    Lamenting the insecurity in the land, Adams said no Governor in South West should allocate any portion of land for cattle ranching or colony, saying Yoruba history would not forget and forgive anyone of them who did so.

    “Our land is not available for Miyetti Allah, so they should find other place or other means of rearing their cattle. I am a warrior and I am not afraid and the Yorubas are not afraid of any tribes who are giving us problems.

    “I am only waiting for approval from my Kings because they have the final say on this issue. I am not limiting this struggle to the South West only but to the States like Kogi and Kwara States where we have Yoruba society. We won’t allow insecurity to overwhelm us.

    “We will not allow it to distract us from pursuing restructuring agenda. We should do whatever we have to do to deliver ourselves. I can still roll out one million Yoruba people.” he said.