Buhari, Governors To End Herdsmen/Farmers Clashes, Agree On Ranches To Settle Feuds
Mon Apr 04, 2016 12:43:pm National
2.5K By sosa hills
Instead of grazing reserves, President Muhammadu Buhari and state governors in the federation have agreed that ranches should be established to tackle the incessant farmers/herdsmen clashes.
The leaders' decision was made public on Sunday by Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong.
Lalong spoke in Jos at the dedication of the new headquarters of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA).
The governor sait5 that grazing reserves would not address the clashes and the killings.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), 200 people were killed in one of the recent clashes between herdsmen and their host communities in Agatu, Benue State.
"The President and governors agreed that there would be no grazing areas; ranches would be established by government where the cattle would be kept in one place and fed.
"Government will provide facilities like medical, schools and other needs in the ranches," he said.
Lalong further said that the ranches would not be for Fulani herdsmen alone but for whoever rears cattle.
He said that the Buhari administration inherited myriads of problems, saying that herdsmen/farmers clashes were just one of such problems and urged the people to be patient.
He urged Plateau citizens to pray for the state and the Federal Government as all the problems could not be solved in one year.
Also speaking, the Senator representing Plateau South, Jeremiah Useni, said that delegates at the 2014 National Conference agreed that grazing reserves should be a state affair, not federal.
He said that it would be difficult for farmers to support the establishment of grazing areas as they would not donate their farms for grazing purposes.
In his sermon, Anthony Farinto, former ECWA President, called on leaders at all levels to urgently address the difficulties Nigerians were going through.
The cleric, who condemned the recent killing of a military official, urged the Federal Government to do all within its power to address the security challenges facing the country.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Police Command has confirmed last week's killing of seven persons in Egiland, a community in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ahmad Muhammad, who reacted to the alleged killing of about 16 persons in the area, said the number was conflicting as the police could only confirmed the murder of a pastor and six others in the area.
Ahmad further stated that their investigation revealed that the victims were allegedly killed by some unidentified herdsmen who tried to get back at the community over the stealing of some of their cows.
He said: "The command found it instructive to state that on Thursday, March 30, 2016 at about 5:30am, the police in Egi Division received a report that on Wednesday, March 29, 2016 at about 10pm unidentified assailants suspected to be herdsmen struck in Ohali-Elu town leaving one Pastor Geoffrey Ogagaghene with severe cutlass cuts that later led to his death.
"It is also pertinent to state that in the buildup to the attack, there was a case of stealing of unspecified number of cows belonging to some herdsmen allegedly perpetrated by the youths of the community, but the case was never reported to the police.
It is reasonably suspected that the attack might have been carried out by the herdsmen as reprisal for stealing their cows."
The leaders' decision was made public on Sunday by Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong.
Lalong spoke in Jos at the dedication of the new headquarters of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA).
The governor sait5 that grazing reserves would not address the clashes and the killings.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), 200 people were killed in one of the recent clashes between herdsmen and their host communities in Agatu, Benue State.
"The President and governors agreed that there would be no grazing areas; ranches would be established by government where the cattle would be kept in one place and fed.
"Government will provide facilities like medical, schools and other needs in the ranches," he said.
Lalong further said that the ranches would not be for Fulani herdsmen alone but for whoever rears cattle.
He said that the Buhari administration inherited myriads of problems, saying that herdsmen/farmers clashes were just one of such problems and urged the people to be patient.
He urged Plateau citizens to pray for the state and the Federal Government as all the problems could not be solved in one year.
Also speaking, the Senator representing Plateau South, Jeremiah Useni, said that delegates at the 2014 National Conference agreed that grazing reserves should be a state affair, not federal.
He said that it would be difficult for farmers to support the establishment of grazing areas as they would not donate their farms for grazing purposes.
In his sermon, Anthony Farinto, former ECWA President, called on leaders at all levels to urgently address the difficulties Nigerians were going through.
The cleric, who condemned the recent killing of a military official, urged the Federal Government to do all within its power to address the security challenges facing the country.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Police Command has confirmed last week's killing of seven persons in Egiland, a community in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ahmad Muhammad, who reacted to the alleged killing of about 16 persons in the area, said the number was conflicting as the police could only confirmed the murder of a pastor and six others in the area.
Ahmad further stated that their investigation revealed that the victims were allegedly killed by some unidentified herdsmen who tried to get back at the community over the stealing of some of their cows.
He said: "The command found it instructive to state that on Thursday, March 30, 2016 at about 5:30am, the police in Egi Division received a report that on Wednesday, March 29, 2016 at about 10pm unidentified assailants suspected to be herdsmen struck in Ohali-Elu town leaving one Pastor Geoffrey Ogagaghene with severe cutlass cuts that later led to his death.
"It is also pertinent to state that in the buildup to the attack, there was a case of stealing of unspecified number of cows belonging to some herdsmen allegedly perpetrated by the youths of the community, but the case was never reported to the police.
It is reasonably suspected that the attack might have been carried out by the herdsmen as reprisal for stealing their cows."
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