The Nation Newspaper

Tag: killings

  • Unite against killings, PLIN tells church leaders

    An interdenominational ministerial group, Pastors Leaders Interceding Network (PLIN), has tasked church leaders in the country to speak with one voice against the killings of Christians.

    According to PLIN, the killings will halt if church leaders can jointly speak to the authorities instead of using their personal platforms.

    PLIN, in a statement last week by its convener, Apostle Dele Johnson, admitted the leaders have been speaking, but urged them to come together to issue ultimatum to the federal government to address the growing insecurity concerns.

    It said the government will take church leaders seriously when they speak with force as one.

    The group said: “The church must no longer maintain this deafening silence. We are the voice of the poor masses .We are the hope of the inconsequential critical mass.

    “We recognise efforts of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to condemn the waste of human lives by herdsmen and the clear knee jerk, largely insincere and very poor handling of this ugly trend by the government.

    “We believe more needs to be done. All hands must be on deck to end this carnage.”

    PLIN recalled how the controversies trailing the merger of Christian Religious Studies (CRS) ended immediately church leaders spoke strongly to the authorities last year.

    It said the same result will be replicated if church leaders address the federal government as one.

    “PLIN is hereby calling for a joint press briefing of our church fathers to address this carnage.

    “This must be done urgently to stem this reckless blot letting by the herdsmen/Boko Haram,” the group stressed.

    It went on: “If the church refuses to talk now then we can be assured that the aggression against the church because of the failure of the government shall escalate.

    “We must get this herdsmen proscribed as a terrorist group because they have killed more innocent and defenceless people compared to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) that has no records of any killing, which the government was quick to list as a terrorist group.”

     

  • President Buhari expresses confidence in Nigerian Army’s committment to end killings in Nigeria

    President Muhammadu Buhari has once again expressed his administration’s committment to end every act of killing in the country.

    The globallly recognized first President in Africa who earned the sobriquet from the United States President, Donald Trump made re—affirmed his committeememt to the safety of lives and properties in Nigeria after receiving briefing from the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General TY Buratai at the state house this evening.

    President Buhari who commended the efforts of the Chief of Army Staff in aligning with his vision on security, took to his official Facebook page to express his position of the efforts of the Nigerian Army.

    See full text below:

    I received a briefing from the Chief of Army Staff this afternoon. The Army recently established a new battalion in Birnin-Gwari, Kaduna State, in addition to other deployments in troubled parts of the country. As I’ve assured again and again, our commitment to the peace and security of Nigeria is total.

  • Killings: Activists demand designation of killer-herdsmen as terrorists

    A coalition of pressure groups yesterday in Abuja called on the Federal Government to designate killer herdsmen as terrorist group.

    The groups which marched on Abuja streets,  said the proscription and designation of the killer-herdsmen as a terrorist group, will give the Federal Government a greater leverage to seek better regional and international support to confront their menace.

    In a protest letter addressed  to the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), under the auspices of “OurMumu Don Do; Concerned Nigerians; Coalition in Defence of Nigerian Democracy; Campaign for Democracy and MAD Connect”, urged him to invoke the provision of Section 2(1)(c) of the Terrorism Prevention Act (TPA) 2011, against the killer herdsmen.

    The section provides; “where two or more persons associate for the purpose of or where an organisation engages in participating or collaborating in an act of terrorism; promoting, encouraging or exhorting others to commit an act of terrorism; or setting up or pursuing acts of terrorism, the judge in chambers may on an application made by the Attorney General, National Security Adviser or Inspector General of Police on the approval of the president; declare any entity to be a proscribed organisation and the notice should be published in official gazette.”

    The protest came on the heels of a law suit asking the Abuja division of the Federal High Court to proscribed and designate the Fulani herdamen and Miyetti Allah Kauta  Hore as  terrorist organisation.

    In a suit before the Abuja division of the Federal High Court, a  Makurdi-based lawyer, Matthew Nyiutsa, has asked the court  to compel President Muhammadu Buhari and Attorney General of the Federation to move a court of competent jurisdiction to proscribe the group.

    In addition, the plaintiff in the suit is seeking the prohibition of all activities of Fulani herdsmen in Benue State that has resulted in the deliberate and intentional killings, massacre, wanton destruction of both private and public properties including residential and commercial houses, schools, hospitals/ clinic, markets, water boreholes/reservoirs, invasion of ancestral lands of the inhabitants as acts of terrorism under the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2011 as amended.

    The protest letter which was read by Ariyo Atoye of the Coalition in Defence of Nigerian Democracy, said more than 900 innocent lives have been lost so far in 2018 to the unprovoked, brutish attacks of killer herdsmen in the middle-belt Zone of the country alone, according to available statistics.

    The letter reads in part, ” We are extremely concerned that the survival of Nigeria is currently being threatened by the atrocities of killer herdsmen in the country. On daily basis, innocent Nigerians are being slaughtered in different parts of the country.

    “In 2018 alone, hundreds of innocent Nigerians have been cut down by this group, and hundreds of communities have been affected by wanton destructions of human lives and properties, so much so that President Muhamadu Buhari had to publicly declare during his recent visits to the United Kingdom and the United States of America, that Nigeria is under the invasion of killer herdsmen from Libya. It is, however, instructive to admit for effective action and intervention that there cannot be infiltrations into the country by external forces without internal collaborators.”

    Praising the recent decision by the Federal Government that “all animal farmers must ranch their cattle and livestock for better productivity,” as a significant steps, the group however said it was not a sufficient alone to stop the killings and destructions because the country in already under invasion of killer herdsmen.

    “The attacks by these killer herdsmen have affected innocent and peace-loving Nigerians in their thousands across the country, uprooted families, destroyed communities socio-economic activities and business, depriving them.of their means of survival and the desecration of their cultural and ancestral heritage. These barbaric killings and mindless attacks undermine the laws of Nigeria and principles of the UN Charter concerning the protection of human life.

    “We are aware, that the Benue State government has in a judicial process, identified that a group , is responsible for the widespread killings and violence across 14 out of the 23 local councils in the state. This development has made it compelling for the government to quickly investigate the activities of the group in the interest of entrenching justice, safety, and peace in the state, and the entire country.

    The groups urged the AGF to “to immediately take firm action towards getting President Muhammadu Buhari, to proscribe and designate the killer herdsmen a terrorist group in Nigeria. By doing so, we believe that the federal government will be one step farther in ending this deadly group, at the soonest time possible.”

    Replying, Mrs. Lola Uket, the Acting Director, General Services, Federal Ministry of Justice, who received the letter on behalf of the AGF, assured them that it will be delivered to the AGF through the Permanent Secretary and Solicitor-General of the Federation, Mr. Dayo Apata.

    Those who led the groups include Charlie Boy Oputa; (Our Mumu Don Do); Nwazuruahu Shield of Leadership and Accountability Initiative and Maryann Apollo.

  • Killings meant to instigate war, says Buhari

    New security measures have been introduced by President Muhammadu Buhari to combat killings in Kaduna, Taraba and Benue states.

    The President yesterday expressed  outrage over the killing of 45 people in Birnin Gwari, Kaduna State at the weekend.

    He  said the killings were meant to “instigate war for selfish reasons”, adding that they are “not spontaneous”.

    Buhari said: “I am deeply outraged by this unwarranted, unprovoked and reckless destruction of lives by bandits who belong to the lowest level of civilisation. I feel the pains and devastation of the families of the victims, and this administration will do everything possible to ensure we defeat these enemies of humanity.”

    The measures to end the killings and general insecurity in the Middle Belt were stated  in a statement by presidential spokesman Garba Shehu yesterday.

    These include the confirmation that a new battalion of the Army and a new Police Area Command have been sited in Birnin Gwari.

    The statement said:  “The new Army Battalion and the Police Area Command are the latest in a series of law enforcement measures to ensure more effective protection of lives and property, in and around Benue, Kaduna, Taraba, Zamfara and Nasarawa states.

    “Last week, the Nigerian Air Force took delivery of two new helicopter gunships, for deployment to parts of the country affected by banditry.”

    A Quick Response Wing has been established by the Nigerian Air Force in Taraba State. A Joint Military Intervention Force is in Benue State..

    The Kaduna State Police Command also yesterday announced the deployment of three additional police mobile units to reinforce security in Birnin Gwari where 45 people were killed on Saturday in Gwaska village.

    Its spokesman Mukhtar Aliyu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna that no arrest had been made, but that efforts were on to track down the killers.

    He said that the policemen were detailed to comb the area for the killers and other criminals.

    President Buhari also said security remained a priority of his  administration, which he added would not tolerate the persistent killing of innocent people to set Nigerians against one another.

    “These persistent killings are not spontaneous; there are subterranean forces with a sinister agenda to instigate war in the country for selfish purposes.

    “Although unconventional war is particularly complicated, our security forces are making rigorous efforts to better understand these enemies with a view to decisively checkmating their evil attacks.”

    In another statement, a reaction to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s accusation against the President on killings in the country, Shehu said: “What can President Buhari possibly gain from the killings? There is no intelligent angle from which you analyse the matter and see any possible gain for this government in the wanton destruction of life and property going on.

    For the “new” PDP leadership on the other hand, incapable of thinking big about the nation, they see and treat the unfortunate spate of killingS of innocent Nigerians as political gift, about which they seem very happy to cite as the basis for a return to power.  They feel bad at every turn the country improves, which is beyond comprehension.  They should bury their heads in shame.”

    He added: “The various lengths to which President Buhari has gone to end the spate of killings, such as mobilising state resources against the attackers, approving the setting up of new police and army formations in the affected areas, and the recruitment of thousands into the police and other arms of the military, are a few of the several steps taken , which a more reasonable opposition will acknowledge.”

  • Emir to Buhari: Killings targeted at embarrassing your govt

    The Emir of Katsina Alhaji Mohammadu Kabir Usman Monday in Katsina told visiting President Muhammadu Buhari that the spate of killings that is ravaging the country and threatening national security is sponsored and targeted at embarrassing his government and undermine his re-election bid

    He said ’’those who doesn’t want you re-elected and who doesn’t want your government to succeed are behind the current killings ravaging the country. It is designed to discredit and bring down your government but they will not succeed. We will continue to pray for you and therefore urge Nigerians to join us in praying’’

    The emir while re-iterating that the solution to the present national challenges lies in corporate prayers, called on Nigerians and lovers of democracy to offer fervent prayers and seek divine intervention to the present national predicament

    While responding, President Buhari told the emir he came to the palace to console him over the death of the chief Imam of Katsina mosque, Alhaji Mohammadu Lawal who was a bosom friend and a devoted Muslim

    He assured the emir that his government will remain undeterred in delivering on his campaign promises and tackling current security challenges in the country

    Meanwhile the Katsina state government has also joined in mourning the death of the renowned Islamic cleric and Chief Imam of Katsina Central Mosque Muhammadu Lawal.

    In a statement signed by his SSA Media Abdu Labaran, Governor Masari described the death of the highly respected and learned Islamic cleric as a devastating loss not only to Katsina State, but to the Islamic world, adding that the gravity of the loss will be felt beyond the shores of Nigeria in view of the vastness and depth of his knowledge.

    Governor Masari also described the deceased as a simple, humble and serious Islamic teacher whose tutelage extended beyond Nigeria, even as he called on Islamic clerics to emulate the life led by the deceased.

    While condoling the Emir of Katsina and Daura, the immediate family and disciples of the deceased, as well as the people of Katsina state and the Muslim community at large, the Governor prayed to Allah to forgive him all his shortcomings and make paradise his final resting place.

    The 95 year old cleric, who was said to have died of old age related sickness, has since been buried same day according to Islamic rites. He is survived by 22 children

    President Buhari has since left Katsina State for Jigawa state Monday.

    Read Also: Buhari Leaves Daura for Abuja after APC congress

  • Killings: Why Nigerians may resort to self-help— Okogie

    Retired Catholic archbishop of Lagos State, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie, says the spate of killings in parts of the country will ultimately force Nigerians rise up in their own self defence.

    Okogie,reacting to the latest killings of innocent Nigerians in Benue and Adamawa States by herdsmen ,said the situation is getting out of hand.

    He called it strange and unprecedented.

    “I have never seen this kind of thing before o,” he told The Nation by phone.

    He said the development has proved former Defence Minister Yakubu Danjuma right about the need for those under attack to defend themselves.

    “I will like to abide by what TY Danjuma said that everybody should be ready to protect himself,” he said.

    “What is happening now is proving him (Danjuma) right.

    “It going to get to the point of using vigilance people for protection and whatever they use that is nobody’s business, provided your own life and property are  guarded.  Everybody will have to protect himself.

    “We  would get the police to provide protection during our celebration of the Holy Mass because that is what is provided by the government. If that is not enough and they continue to kill, let them go ahead.  But every day is for the thief and one day is for the owner.”

    Continuing,Okogie said:”this world belongs to us all. If you do good, you will reap it and if do bad you will reap it.

    “It is not a question of being a commissioner or a  governor. It is the future that matters. A good name is better than riches.  It is horrible.

    “Both the Bible and the Quran admonish us not to kill. This injunction is not just for Christians and Muslims but for everyone.

    “We should all know that there is nemesis.  If it doesn’t catch up with you, it will surely catch people after you. Life is precious and only God can give live. If you waste anybody’s life, you will get the consequence from God.”

    However,he said the situation would not degenerate into a religious war.

    “I don’t believe this will lead to religious war because I know that after all said and done,  the good Lord will come out.  He will show us the way,” he said.

    Danjuma,a former chief of army staff had, in March, said in Jalingo,the Taraba State capital that Nigerians must defend themselves against attacks by killers.

    “You must rise to protect yourselves from these people.If you depend on the Armed Forces to protect you, you will all die,” he said.

    “This ethnic creasing must stop in Taraba, and it must stop in Nigeria. These killers have been protected by the military, they cover them and you must be watchful to guide and protect yourselves because you have no any other place to go.

    “The ethnic cleansing must stop now otherwise Somalia will be a child play.

    “I ask all of you to be on your alert and defend your country, defend your state.”

    The Presidency daubed  Danjuma’s statement   shocking and scary.

    It said unrestrained pronouncements were capable of encouraging criminals to defy legal and democratic institutions.

  • Killings: Protests, prayers in Lagos, Benue, Ibadan

    Anger in Akure

    March on Ekiti Govt House

    Pope prays for harmony, peace

    It was a day of prayers and protests yesterday over the killings in some parts of the country.

    Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) President Supo Ayokunle called for the protests as a wake-up call to the Federal Government that the bloodletting must stop.

    However, there were no protests in the Southeast. The protests in Lagos, Ibadan, Ado-Ekiti, Akure, Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Makurdi, among others, were largely restricted to the Baptist Church. Rev Ayokunle is of the Nigerian Baptist Convention.

    Pentecostal churches, which are mostly affiliated to the Pentocostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), did not join the protest.

    In Kano, the state chapter of CAN chose prayers instead of a protest.

    It declared that the killings were the handiwork of mercenaries and urged the Federal Government to treat the killers as terrorists.

    State CAN Chairman Rev. Adeolu Samuel Adeyemo said the prayer was to seek divine intervention to end the killings of innocent Nigerians “after due consultation”

    He said:  ”The alleged herdsmen killers are mercenaries. We demand the Federal Government to declare and treat them as terrorists.

    “The military should confront them as thus to stop the dastardly act of theirs and, as well, demand that Federal Government should look out for their sponsors and bring them to justice.”

    The association praised Governor Aabdullahi Umar Ganduje and the Emir of Kano,  Muhammad Sanusi II, for the peace among residents.

    Rev. Adeyemo said CAN in Kano decided not to protest the killings so as not to give hoodlums the opportunity to hijack it, adding that through prayers, “God in His infinite mercy will intervene and restore peace in those trouble areas”.

    “We demand the need to go the extra mile to free the Chibok girls, Leah Sharibu and all those abducted by the terrorists irrespective of tribe and religion,” he said.

    Christian leaders in Kano gathered at Believers Baptist Church, 6, Zungeru Road where they prayed to God to save Nigerians from killers.

    Rev. Ayokunle led the protest in Ibadan where church members converged on the Oritamefa Baptist Church in the Oyo State capital. The protest was restricted to the church premises.

    Youth groups and women estimated to be about 2,000, walked round the church premises and vicinity. They called on the government to stem the killings.

    The service in the church was also to offer thanksgiving for the success of the just- concluded Annual Baptist Convention, which held in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

    Inscriptions on some of the placards read, “CAN says No to Violent Killings”; “FG, stop this wicked act”; “CAN says No to Religious Killings”; “FG, release Leah Sharibu from Captivity”; “Enough of Bloodshed in Nigeria, CAN rejects FGN poor handling of insecurity”; “Human beings are more valuable than cattle, protect human beings”; “FG be sensitive to families that are mourning”; “No more excuses for mass murder”; and “Enough of unlawful killings in the country”, among others.

    There was also a protest at the Gospel Faith Mission International International (GOFAMINT) Church, Akanran Road in the Ona Ara Local Government Area.

    The protesters sang and condemned the  killings.

    In Lagos, protests were held at the Shepherded Hill Baptist Church, Obanikoro where congregants protested at the Obanikoro Bus Stop, chanting “no more bloodshed”. They carried placards, with inscriptions such as, “CAN rejects poor handling of insecurity”, “Arrest and prosecute wicked killers in Nigeria”, “Federal Government of Nigeria, take full responsibility for security in Nigeria”, “Enough of bloodshed in Nigeria” and “Federal Government ensure immediate release of Leah Sharibu from captivity”.

    Senior Pastor Israel Kristilere said the protest was to make Nigerians realise that the church was no longer find the killings palatable.

    “We want the whole world to know that we are against bloodshed in this country and we are not part of them.”

    He said the government must stand up and ensure security of Nigerians.

    “Government must be responsive and responsible. It is their responsibility to ensure the security of lives and properties and whatever it takes to do this can never be too much. If there is need for more gadgets, they should get it,” Kristilere said.

    He noted that many of those troubling the country were no ghosts, adding that if the government spends billions of dollars to tackle insecurity, it is not too much.

    “We are also demanding the release of Leah Sharibu from the custody of Boko Haram,” he said.

    Kristilere urged the government to be serious with insecurity.

    He prayed for the exposure of all those sponsoring bloodshed, adding that God will destroy all the plans of the wicked ones.

    In Ekiti, the protesters took to the streets from about 2.00 pm. Policemen and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) members watching over them.

    This was aside the protest in the early hours by various individual churches, such as Gospel Faith Mission International (GOFAMINT) and the Baptist Church among others.

    Led by the CAN Chairman Rev. Joshua Orikogbe, the protesting Christians marched from the CAN House at Ori Apata on Adebayo Road in Ado-Ekiti to the Adekunle Fajuyi Memorial Park. They ended the protest at the Government House where they sent a letter to President Buhari through Governor Ayo Fayose.

    The CAN chairman said: “We are for peace in Nigeria but it is like we are being pushed to the wall by these wanton killings of Christians and clerics.

    “To us in Ekiti CAN, the only way to sustain peace is for  the government of the day at the federal level to abandon politics for sometime and focus the needed attention on security and safety of lives,” he said.

    Fayose, whose Special Adviser on Religious Matters, Pastor Seyi Olusola, received the protesters, praised them for being peaceful.

    The Ekiti State Baptist Conference President Rev. Yinka Aribasoye has called on the Federal Government to stop the killings.

    He called for the resignation of the Service Chiefs if they could not guarantee the security of ordinary Nigerians.

     

    The presiding pastor of the First Baptist Church, Okeyinmi, Ado-Ekiti, Reverend Kayode Ayinde, enjoined Christians to pray for Shaibu’s safe return.

    Christian faithful in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, wore black and white dresses as a mark of mourning for the murdered Catholic priests and parishioners of St Ignatius Church, Mbalom, Gwer East Local Government Area.

    Two Catholic priests  Rev.  Father Joseph Gor and Rev. Father  Felix Tyolaha, as well as  16 worshippers were killed at  mass  on April 24.

    A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who went round some churches in Makurdi,  reports that most worshippers, regardless of denomination, wore black and white dresses.

    NAN also reports that the worshippers held peaceful protests within their churches to denounce “the acts of barbarism” on innocent citizens.

    They held placards with inscriptions such as  “Enough of the killings”, “We want peace in our state”, “No more bloodshed”, “Lord, what have we done to deserve this?’’  among  others.

    At the NKST church in Iyortyer, Makurdi, the worshippers carried placards, marching peacefully within  the premises.

    Pastor Frederick Ikyaan of   NKST  Church at High Level area of the metropolis said the Christian community was mourning

    “ We are saddened by these killings and we want the world to know our displeasure over these acts,’’ he said.

    Ikyaan said that the dress code was reminiscent of the  tradition of the church in  wearing sack clothes when faced with such calamities.

    “ In the olden days, Christians wore sack clothes when confronted with calamities of monstrous nature but since we no longer have such clothes, we wear black and white to show our grief and anguish.

    “Our concern is to express our displeasure and feelings to the immediate society, our leaders in Nigeria and President Buhari,  without mincing words that we are offended by the ongoing killings in the state and the  country,’’ he said.

    He said that with the killing  of the priests and worshippers,  it was very clear that the invaders were not after the green vegetation but the soul of the state.

    The cleric  said that the killing of the priests had further deepened their faith, adding that no amount of intimidation would stop them from practicing their faith.

    He said that the priests and faithful  killed had become martyrs of the herdsmen invasion in Benue,  adding that they were the seeds  sown by the church.

    Security operatives were patrolling the state capital while the church services were ongoing

    Members of the First Baptist Church in Rivers State staged a peaceful protest within the church’s headquarters.

    A church leader, who declined to be named, said: “It is unfortunate that President Muhammadu Buhari has not said much since the advent of the herdsmen killing of Christians in Southern Kaduna, parts of the Northeast and recently Benue State.

    ”We are demanding the immediate release of Leah. They want to turn this into a religious war. If the Federal Government does not act now and end this madness, Christians will rise up and defend themselves and Nigeria will be worse than Afghanistan, Mali and  Rwanda,” he said.

     

  • CAN ‘won’t tolerate killings any longer’

    Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Chairman Supo Ayokunle, said yesterday that Christans woud no longer tolerate killings across the country.

    He said in Ibadan after the protest: “We are gathered here united like Christians all over the country are gathered and united to say no. Capital no to bloodshed in Nigeria. Since 2009, bloodshed has continued, government after government, administration after administration has been promising us not to fear and go about our business that they are on top of the situation but we have seen that they are never on top of it. Bloodshed had continued. It used to be Boko Haram alone, now herdsmen especially the Fulani people have joined them and they have been killing people and decimating communities.

    “Now they have concentrated on Christian communities, the Middle Belt, which is majority Christians, they have been killing and maiming and to cap it all, they have now started going into churches. In the last one week, they have murdered two priests inside their churches while they were conducting mass and killed the people who came for worship. The Inspector General of Police is there, doing nothing, we have always been hearing of unknown gunmen, when will these unknown gunmen become known? Are they spirits? are they not human beings? What of the intelligence service of the security agencies, why are they inept, why are they inept? Instead of them going to comb bushes to recover all these guns from the murderous herdsmen, they are going about houses and telling people who are licensed to own guns to submit them. What type of security approach is that? It is questionable and complicity.

    “We have lost fate in the security agencies and they must sack all the security chiefs and replace them with new ones. No more bloodshed, if the bloodshed continues, this administration should forget about 2019. We cannot continue like this enough is enough.”

    “With the protest, what we are saying is that, if they do not address this matter, they should forget about 2019. Whether the President is going to recontest or not is not my problem, my problem is that he cannot continue to be there while bloodshed continues, while herdsmen continue to decimate communities and none of them is being brought to book. Or how many of them have you heard is being brought to book? If these continue, he should forget about leading this nation any further.”

    Encouraging the Christian communities being threatened by violence and marauding killers, the CAN President said, “they should stand firm and be strong. They should not be afraid or be coward, they should speak out the truth to powers because we all own Nigeria together. Christians are not second citizens in this country. We have no country of our own and we are also stakeholders like those in government and we are telling them, we didn’t vote them into power to kill all of us. If they see criminals, they have been given everything by the Nigerian nation to arrest the criminals and bring them to book. No excuse again can avail for lack of performance.”

    On the impeachment move of the President by the National Assembly, the cleric noted, “impeachment or not is not my problem. The legislative arm of government should do their work to uphold the law and make those who should uphold the law to do so.”

    Reacting to the call by the Catholic Bishops on President Buhari to step aside at a recent protest, the Nigerian Baptist Convention President said he had also advised the President to sack all the service chiefs and replace them with those with fresh ideas if he must save his head, especially as the killers seem to be determined to be concentrating on killing Christians.

    He said, “I have also told him to sack the service chiefs who cannot perform. What do you want the Catholic Church to say when two of their priests were killed inside the church, not inside anybody’s farm, not when they were running after anybody’s cow but they went to their churches and kill them. Do you want them (Catholic bishops) to tell such a government to continue?. Never.

    “They must also set Leah Sharibu free. She is captive of faith. What type of negotiation was the one they did, allowing other students to gain freedom and leaving one behind on the basis of her faith? This government will have blood on its hands if Leah Saribu is not released with immediate effect as well as all the Chibok girls who are still in captivity.”

  • My heart bleeds over killings, says Gowon

    Killings by suspected herdsmen and Boko Haram insurgents have left former Head of State General Yakubu Gowon a sad man.

    He said his heart bleeds, describing the killing of innocent Nigerians as “man’s inhumanity to man”.

    Gowon spoke yesterday when he paid a courtesy call on Governor Rochas Okorocha at the Government House Owerri.

    He said: “Nigeria needs peace so that all the people can live and work together in the interest of one another.

    “With prayers, God could touch the hearts of all those involved in all these killings like he touched the Biblical Saul and he changed them to become instrument of transformation instead of destruction.

    “God can touch one’s heart and change the person into becoming a vessel of Peace. My prayer for every Nigerian man is to live in harmony.

    “We would wish, every man and woman, and religious leaders to rally round and assist in any way possible. Every one of us has a role to play not only the leaders. That is why we seek for God’s intervention”.

    Okorocha advised Nigerians to see the activities of groups like Boko Haram and others as national problem that require all hands to be on deck for solution and should not be politicised.

     

  • Killings: Fed Govt stops movement of herdsmen

    Ranching to take off in five states

    Nigeria to end ECOWAS free movement

    ADVOCATES of ranching have won their battle.

    The National Economic Council (NEC) yesterday agreed to stop herdsmen’s movement, starting with five states – Benue, Taraba, Adamawa, Kaduna and Plateau. They are the states mostly affected by the bloodletting sparked by herdsmen-farmers clashes.

    The Council supported the immediate creation of ranches across the country, Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi told State House correspondents at the end of the NEC meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

    According to him, the five states are expected to provide land for ranches.

    He said that through ranching, the nomadic herdsmen and their families would have access to medical facilities and schools.

    Staying in a ranch, he said, would also improve the well-being of the cattle.

    Umahi said foreign herdsmen would have to show some travel documents, even though visa is not allowed for movement of West Africans.

    His words: “Today, NEC took briefing from the NEC technical committee on the farmers and herdsmen conflicts in the various states of the federation. NEC sometime this year came up with a committee following the constant conflicts between herdsmen and farmers. They came up with the committee of nine governors with the VP as the chairman, and the committee went into deliberations.

    ”After a couple of meetings, they decided that the most five affected states should be visited. So, they came up with a sub technical committee of three governors, chaired by governor of Ebonyi State, with the governors of Plateau, Adamawa as members.

    ”We were constituted to visit the five core states. Later, other states, like Plateau and Kaduna states, were also added. But we were able to visit only five states, such as Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba, Jigawa and Zamfara states.

    ”The core causes of the conflicts we were made to understand were ; perception and, of course, our media friends, competition for scarce resources and banditry or what you can call pure criminal activities through cattle rustling, kidnapping etc.

    ’Today we look at three categories of herdsmen in Nigeria. We look at the foreign herdsmen that come in due to the treaty and we continue to say that the treaty is not being properly implemented. For any herdsman to come into Nigeria from outside, there should be a kind of certification, there must be a letter, even though you are not coming in with a visa, you have to travel with ECOWAS documentation. Animals that are coming into the country are required to be quarantined, but this is not being done.

    ”So, this one category of them. Secondly, we have the nomadic herdsmen, who during the dry season, travel from up North to the Middle Belt down to the South. This crest conflicts . Also foreign herdsmen coming all through the way from neighboring countries and travelling through the farm lands also cause conflicts.

    ”Then, of course, we have the migrant herdsmen who migrate for a very long time and settle with the villagers and even inter marry with them. These are the three categories we have in Nigeria. In all, we agreed that movement is not either profitable to the herdsmen because they value the milk from the cow even more than the cow itself.

    ”So, the movement is not healthy for the cows as it dries up the meat and gives less than two liters of milk per cow per day,” he said

    According to him, NEC also condemned the issues of foreign invasion by foreign herdsmen.

    He said: “Today, there was a meeting of ECOWAS countries on the subject and we also agreed that these movements by the nomadic herdsmen have to stop and occasionally by those who have settled and integrated from other parts of the country, like the Middle Belt, they sometimes go into conflicts with farmers because of movement of their cows.

    ”So, in all, we agreed that there is a more profitable and modern way of raising these cows which is by ranching. So, we have agreed that the five states that are involved are going to give land. Niger and Kaduna, outside the five states, have given land and Plateau is also giving land. Ranching is being practised in Mambila, in Taraba State and they have success stories with regards to that.

    ”We also agreed that through the Agric Ministry, we have the need to introduce new species of cows. The minister told us that there are new species that produce as much as 60 liters of milk per day per cow, and that the cows weight as much as 900 Kgs but our own weigh less than 200kgs. So, we have agreed that we are going to work on these new species, while also working with our ranching. We also agreed that livestock production in Nigeria has not been taken care of.

    ”As we are taking care of the farmers by way of the Anchor Borrowers Scheme, of course the farmers cry of the high interest rate. The rate of interest should be between 2 to 5%, so, we should extend those gestures to the herdsmen. And it was discovered that most of these cows are not being herded by their owners. Big men buy these cattle and give them out to the herders So, the children of the herders have nothing to inherit. They, therefore, go into cattle rustling and other forms of criminalities.

    ”Through this policy and intervention in the livestock production, it will be possible for the herdsmen to own their own livestock and have something for the future. We also agreed that there is need for good life for the herdsmen. Through theses policies their children will be able to go to schools.

    “There will be nomadic education and medical facilities through these ranches for the herdsmen and their animals. Grasses will be planted, irrigation and dams will be created for source of water. Lastly, we ask the public to begin to see livestock as another means of investment.” he said

    Agriculture Minister Audu Ogbeh said that the Federal Government would not allow the killings to continue.

    According to him, Nigeria may no longer be able to keep to the ECOWAS protocol on free movement of persons.

     

    Nigeria to end ECOWAS free movement to curtail criminals’ influx

    Nigeria will stop unfettered movement of persons into the country from the West Africa sub region to curb killings believed to be carried out by foreigners, the President said yesterday.

    President Muhammadu Buhari blamed the non-implementation of two ECOWAS protocols on free movement of persons, goods and services for the lingering herders/ farmers conflicts in the sub region.

    He was speaking at the ECOWAS Ministerial Meeting on Conflicts between Herders and Farmers in the region organised in partnership with the countries’ ministries of Agriculture and Interior in Abuja. It was on a day when gunmen struck at a church in Benue State, killing seven people and injuring others.

    The President said:  ”We can no longer continue to tolerate the undocumented movement of persons that simply contribute to the escalation of our security challenges.

    “We must be able to track the movement; we must ensure that the protocols are complied with and relevant sections are activated.’’

    Represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the President said the protocols were necessary in the discussions to proffer a lasting solution to incessant killings as a result of the conflict.

    “Two ECOWAS Protocols are critical to the conversation that we are going to have here today.

    “The 1979 Protocols of free movement of persons, goods, capital and services and the protocol relating to transhumance in 1998.

    “Regrettably, what we have been confronted with over the years is the failure to fully follow and enforce the terms of these protocols and in some cases the failure to activate sections of the protocols.

    “So that where for example transhumance certificates are to be used and endorsed by medical or immigration officials; this is not the case; this has to change.

    The President said the vision of integration of the ECOWAS founding fathers must not be allowed to be derailed by the failure to comply with the safeguards and conditions that they in their wisdom and foresight embedded in the protocols.

    He said that was why Nigeria had taken the lead in organising the conference, bringing together senior government officials with oversight for agriculture and internal security in the region and beyond to proffer solutions to the lingering problem threatening national security and regional security as well.

    Buhari noted that the economic implications were quite worrisome, considering that no fewer than 70 per cent of the ECOWAS made a living by agriculture.

    According to him, many of the countries in the region are already struggling with food security and the violence, if unchecked, will lead to a catastrophe.

    The President stated that the grazing of cattle along long distances and the whole transhumance experiences needed to be reviewed in favour of ranching.

    He said ranching was a more productive way of breeding cattle rather than walking long distances, adding that the region must explore all the options and look for new and creative solutions to resolve the problem.

    He said the solution should be holistic –  from law enforcement to climate change and reforms in current methods and practices of crop and animal production.

    “We simply must move with the times and modernise our thinking and approach to the issues that face us,’’ he stated.

    Buhari said the Federal Government and states were collaborating to work out an acceptable plan to quell the conflicts by proper management of land resources.

    “We just concluded the work plan jointly put together by the states and Federal governments on the sustainable resolution of herders/farmers’ conflicts and we are now at the point of implementing that plan,’’ he said.