Fulani chief urges Nigerian govt to disarm herdsmen in Jigawa

Isa Adamu, the Lamido of Zugobia in Guri Local Government Area of Jigawa State, has appealed to the state and federal government to collaborate in disarming nomadic herdsmen allegedly unleashing terror in the area.

Mr Adamu, a Fulani, made the plea in Guri at a stakeholders’ meeting organised by the Jigawa mediation committee on herdsmen and farmers on Tuesday.

According to him, the herdsmen, who hail from northern Bauchi, have been coming into the community, destroying farmlands and attacking innocent people.

He dismissed the claim that encroachment on cattle routes and grazing reserves by farmers was responsible for the frequent clashes between farmers and herdsmen in the area, insisting that the herdsmen had a hidden agenda.

“The crisis between farmers and herdsmen in Guri has nothing to do with encroachment on cattle routes and grazing reserves.

“The truth is that herdsmen wielding guns, machetes, bows and arrows are coming to our area from northern Bauchi, attacking our people and destroying their farmlands at will.

“We are also Fulanis; but these criminals are strangers to us and that is why I am calling on the state and federal government to wade into this matter and disarm them immediately before it is too late.

However, the secretary of the committee, Rabiu Miko, noted that the state government had received complaints detailing encroachment on cattle routes and grazing reserves by farmers in the area.

He said it was imperative for the council’s authorities to ensure that cattle routes, ponds and grazing reserves were not used for farming in order to de-escalate the conflict.

Also speaking, the committee chairman, Aminu Babura, said the committee was constituted by Governor Badaru Mohammed, whom he said, was deeply worried by the spate of violent conflicts between farmers and herdsmen.

He said the state had recently provided motorcycles to the leadership of farmers and herdsmen across its 27 local government areas to facilitate dialogue between them in the hinterland.

In his remark, the local government chairman, Barkwano Adiyani, urged both farmers and herdsmen in the area to live in peace, saying that there can be no development without peace.

(NAN)