Vigilante group arrests 4 herdsmen with guns, axes

Four cattle herders were apprehended for possession of dangerous weapons by a local vigilante group in Agadagba Obon, in Ese Odo local government area of Ondo state on Thursday, February 1, 2018.

According to a report by Premium Times, the herdsmen were captured by the vigilante group and handed over to the state's police command.

The state's Police Public Relations Officer, Femi Joseph, said the suspects were caught with guns, cutlasses, daggers and axes, but are not suspected of harming anyone with them.

He said, "They have been handed over to us and when we interrogated them, they told us that they were farmers that they wanted to board a boat to Edo State but we have begun an investigation to ascertain their claims.

"However there was no report the suspects had killed anybody with the arms they are carrying about."

A local group under the Arogbo Ijaw Community Organisation called on the state's security agencies to put a stop to the movement of herders into the state as farmers grow more apprehensive of being attacked.

Herdsmen attacks in 2018

Cattle herders have been linked to a string of violent killings across the country in the first month of 2018.

In the most devastating attacks that heralded the turn of the new year, a series of attacks in Guma and Logo Local Government Area of Benue State between December 31, 2017, and January 6, 2018 led to the death of 73 men, women and children.

Herders have also been linked to several other attacks in Taraba, Plateau and Ekiti that have left dozens dead, and more injured.

Government's plan to stop herdsmen crisis

The Nigerian presidency believes that bandits masquerading as herdsmen are behind the killings across the country.

To this end, “decisive military force will now be fully engaged to deal with the bandits believed to be behind the killings in parts of the country especially regarding the crisis often associated with herdsmen”, a highly placed presidency official told Pulse on Wednesday, January 31, 2018.

The role of “bandits and suspected mercenaries in what has become known as has provoked the need for a fresh approach to dealing with the crisis, sources close to the Working Group formed recently by the National Economic Council (NEC) disclosed on the condition of anonymity; because they haven't been authorized to speak on the subject.

The Working Group

The Working Group was formed by the National Economic Council. It has nine Governors and is chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

The group held a meeting on Thursday, February 1, 2018 at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The meeting was attended by the Vice President and Adamawa State governor, Jibrilla Bindow; Ebonyi State governor, Dave Umahi; Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong; Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai; and Zamfara State governor, Abdul'aziz Yari.