NEC wants herders movement banned in Benue, Taraba, Adamawa

The recommendation was made at the NEC meeting, chaired by the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, on Thursday, April 26, 2019.

The ban is expected to start in the five states that are most affected by the herdsmen crisis. The states are Benue, Taraba, Adamawa, Kaduna and Plateau.

Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi disclosed the outcome of the meeting to State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Umahi said it was resolved that ranching would be adopted in the affected five states and that the state governments will provide lands for that purpose.

The Governor, who chaired the technical committee on farmers and herdsmen conflicts, said the decision was made after he submitted the committee's report.

The committee identified causes of the conflicts to include media perception, competition for scarce resources and banditry through cattle rustling and kidnapping among others.

Umahi said, "In all, we agreed that movement is not profitable to the herdsmen because they value the milk from the cow even more than the cow itself.

"So, movement is not healthy for the cows as it dries up the meat and give less than two litres of milk per cow per day.

"So, we condemn the issues of foreign invasion by foreign herdsmen and l am happy that the FG is doing something about it.

"We also agreed that these movements 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.

"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 states involved are going to give lands. Niger and Kaduna have given lands and Plateau is also giving land.

"Ranching in being practised in Mambila in Taraba State and they have success stories with regards to that."

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The herdsmen have murdered over 200 people since January 1, 2019, in Benue alone.

The state government has on January 11 conducted a mass burial ceremony for the 73 victims of the savage attacks staged by Fulani herdsmen.

On Monday, April 23, the killer herdsmen invaded a church Ayar-Mbalom village of Gwer East Local Government Area of Benue, killing two Catholic priests and 17 other worshippers.