Herdsmen, B’ Haram endanger Nigeria, say Mimiko, Ohanaeze

• Urge swift, firm action against attackers, backers
• Arewa leaders rule out ethno-religious motives
• 16,000 cattle rearers killed, says Fulani group

Nigeria is heading towards the precipice if insecurity, reflected in the activities of Boko Haram and herdsmen, is not caged, Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko, South East senators and some major groups in the country included Ohanaeze Ndigbo and Enugu State chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) warned on Thursday.

However, Arewa Consultative Forum and a Fulani group urged caution on the part of critics of the herders’ actions, the Fulani group saying that about 16,000 cattlemen have been killed in conflicts with farmers and others.

The apex Igbo socio-cultural Organisation condemned the attack on some communities in Enugu State by suspected herdsmen and urged the Federal Government to urgently address the problem to avoid a situation where ethnic militias will emerge to ensure safety in their environments.
The organization also dismissed the proposed Grazing Bill as anti-federalism and unconstitutional.

The President-General Ohaneze Ndigbo, Dr. Gary Nnachi Enwo- Igariwey, noted in Abuja that the incessant attack on communities by heavily armed herdsmen all over Nigeria threatened national unity and peaceful co-existence as they can destablise the country by a synchronised action if they so decide.

He stressed: “Why is it that the herdsmen are so heavily armed, who is arming them and where are they from? It is time to have proper identification of herdsmen so that they can be tracked. The security challenge is enormous, how do we now know when it is herdsmen and when it is not Boko Haram spillovers from their dislodged bases because the style of attack in some of these communities is the same style of attack by Boko Haram? They sack villages and withdraw. The Federal Government should pay attention to these actions. Government should investigate and find out those behind these killings and bring them to book.”

But the Arewa leaders have asked Nigerians to resist attributing ethnic and religious connotations to the various crises.

They unanimously condemned the attack by some herdsmen on the Ukpabi Nimbo Community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State, as “most unfortunate and barbaric.”

They ACF, in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim, said “criminals hiding under whatever guise and committing heinous crimes against innocent people and the state should be treated as such and in accordance with the law.”

ACF called on Nigerians “to be more patient and show understanding with one another, especially now that President Buhari is determined and committed to the war on insurgency and corruption”.

Mimiko challenges religious leaders over herdsmen’s attacks

Dr. Mimiko who a raised fresh alarm over the incessant killings of innocent Nigerians and wanton destruction of property by herdsmen, charged religious leaders to pray more for the country.

The governor while addressing  members of the state’s executive of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), during a  courtesy visit to him in his office warned that, if the heinous crimes against humanity being committed by the herdsmen were not checked, Nigeria would be moving towards a precipice.

He noted that religious leaders must as a matter of urgency and national importance rally round and pray fervently for the unity, peace and development of the country, which at the moment is confronted with challenges.

Against  the allegation by  the  Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) that his administration  diverted the bailout funds meant for state workers’ salaries, Mimiko told the religious leaders that a letter had been written to the agency to correct the claim.

As against the commission’s claim that only N7.9 billion was paid to workers out of the N9.4 billion bailout given to the state, Mimiko affirmed that his administration  added N50 million to the federal lifeline to pay salaries in the period.

He also denied that this administration had spent local councils’ allocations, saying that instead 10% of the state government’s IGR was being remitted to the councils every month.

State chairman of CAN, Rev. John Ayo Oladapo, lauded the governor’s pragmatic leadership in the last seven years, saying that his good works would speak for him after his tenure.

Since 1999, over 16,000 Fulani herdsmen killed, says Fulani group

A splinter group of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), called Gan Allah Fulani Development Association of Nigeria (GAFDAN), through its National Secretary, Alhaji Sale Bayari, spoke to journalists in Jos yesterday on the incessant conflicts.

He claimed: “For the past 15 years, the herdsmen have been crying and they have been losing people, they have been losing human lives, women and children. We have the records. We have the inventory. Within the period of 20 years, we have lost about 16,000 herdsmen in Nigeria from 1999 to date. We have the names, we have the details.

“Just like we said during Niki Toby Commission that we had the names of our people who were killed and that if at the end of the day we bring the list, people would be shocked. As at that time, the cries were that there was genocide against Berom in Barkin Ladi, Riyom and Jos South. By the time we brought names verifiable names of victims including men, women and children, young and infants, the entire state was shocked. Ninety percent of people killed and submitted to the commission were Fulani and not Berom.”

According to him, if there is a national judicial commission of inquiry, and the herdsmen decide to bring out their victims, a lot of the people who are screaming today will go to jail, “some may even be sentenced to death if they are taken to court because it would be found that they precipitated or were responsible for what had happened. The unfortunate thing is that the Fulani man is like the Jew because he suffers one common thing with the Jew, they are always in the minority.”

“Therefore, like the Jews do, when the Palestinian will kill one, they will 100 Palestinians in return may be to serve as a deterrent, may be to have an aggregate of the population, the minority and the majority. If you are to do an aggregate of this thing, maybe it will be one Jew to 100 Palestinians or maybe 50 Palestineans to one Jew. So, if you kill one Jew they will say until they kill 50 Palestinians they wouldn’t have taken revenge,” Bayari said.

“What happens is that if you kill one Fulani person, when he realises that he does nothing, he will always be found to be one and be killed until you cannot find one on the surface of the earth. For the killing of that one, you will see him behaving as if it is 100 that have been killed. May be he is doing that as a deterrent.“

He further affirmed that the Fulani man was not the first aggressor: “I have been with Fulani people, I am their product, I have gone to school to a reasonable level. I have not lost touch with them; I have identified with their cause, especially their lawful cause.”