Following recent heat turned on herdsmen in various parts of the country, the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has urged them to return to the northern region.
In preparation for this, the NEF leadership has also advised governors of the northern to start preparation to receive the Fulani communities being ejected from southern states.
These were contained in a statement issued by Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, NEF’s Director of Publicity and Advocacy, who explained that the advice for a relocation had become imperative following alleged attack on herders, families, and communities in some of the southern states.
The directive comes amidst rising anger against killings, murders, and rape of women that are being attributed to Fulani herdsmen who indulge in these crimes under the cover of being herders.
From Ekiti, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and Oyo states in the West to Edo, Delta in the mid-west, and Abia, Enugu, Imo, and Ebonyi in the southeast, there are tales of woes being visited on communities by these herdsmen.
On Wednesday, women in Uromi, in Edo protested against the Fulanis living in their midst and demanded that they vacate their community.
Shouting #FulanimustGo, the women lamented that the Fulani herdsmen now prevent them from going to their farms, for fear of being killed or raped by the bandits.
Across the regions in the south, east, and north-central, governors have banned open and night grazing by herders in their states as part of measures to curb the excesses of the herdsmen-turned-bandits.
However, the forum declared that Nigeria would be treading dangerous grounds if demonisation of entire groups over particular types of crimes continues.
“NEF is deeply worried by reports of ejections, under threats and attacks, of Fulani herders, families and communities in some states of the south,” the statement said.
They appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari and Governors to “protect law-abiding members of Fulani communities from killers and criminals who apparently believe that Fulani has no rights in Nigeria.”
“The forum has been receiving these reports since the night of Sunday, January 31, and has taken the responsible step by drawing the attention of authorities to the dangers, which these attacks represent for all Nigerians.
“We have also advised law-abiding Fulani communities to seek protection where it is available, and have appealed to other Fulani to resist the temptation to take the law into their own hands.
“It is necessary to warn people who threaten law-abiding Fulani communities in all parts of Nigeria, but particularly in some parts of the South, to desist.
“Majority of Fulani are law-abiding and have rights to live lawfully wherever they can find means of subsistence.
“The Fulani will not be ejected from any Nigerian community only on the basis of being Fulani or herding cattle within the limits of laws and regulations.
“States that seek to limit criminal activities are perfectly entitled to do so, but they must follow due process, and avoid exposing innocent citizens to danger at all cost.
“The forum demands that the Nigeria Police must live up to its constitutional responsibility to detect crimes and arrest and prosecute criminals, whoever they are.”
