Don’t blame herdsmen for moving around with arms ~ Gov Mohammed

The executive governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed has said herdsmen are not to be blamed for moving around with firearms

Mohammed Bala

Bala said the herders are only protecting themselves against cattle rustlers who attack, kill and take away their cows.

Governor Bala spoke as Special Guest of Honour at the launch of the inaugural edition of the Bauchi Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ’s magazine titled ‘Correspondents’ Watch” on Thursday.

Oyo, Ondo and other parts of the Southern State have been in the news of late over security challenges and moves to check the activities of some killer herdsmen.

A popular Yoruba rights activist, Sunday Igboho, had issued an eviction notice to herdsmen accused of sundry crimes in the Ibarapa area of Oyo and enforced same.

Mohammed, while responding to the development, said the herdsmen have the right to live anywhere as Nigerians, adding the forests where they graze their cows belong to nobody.

He said ” The west doesn’t want to accommodate other tribes but we are accommodating your tribe in Bauchi. We have Yorubas who have stayed in Bauchi for over150 years, some of them have being made permanent secretaries in Gombe, Bauchi and Borno but because the Fulani man is practicing the tradition of transhumans, pastoralism, he has been exposed to cattle rustlers who carry a gun, kill him and take away his cows he has no option to carry AK 47 because the government and the society are not protecting him. It’s the fault of the government.

”Nobody owns any forests in Nigeria, it’s owned by Nigeria. Under section 23, 24 and 25 of the Constitution, every Nigerian is free to stay anywhere. Anybody can speak how but we are only exercising restraint.

”If cybercrime is being practised mostly by one tribe, you don’t criminalise the whole tribe because of this. That’s why you journalist needs to be sensitive and exercise restraint. Avoid writing reports that will threaten the unity of this country.”

Bala also criticised his Benue counterpart, Samuel Orthom for poor handling of farmers-herders clashes, in his State said he was very wrong to incite other tribes against the herdsmen.

”My brother and my colleague Ortom started all this as regards herders clashes with other tribes. That’s why I must commend the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, NGF Solomon Lalong, he is a hero in the promotion of peace despite his diverse and minority background, he put an end to the Incessant fighting between herdsmen and other tribes in Plateau.”

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