As Governor Rotimi Akeredolu’s seven-day ultimatum to herdsmen operating in Ondo forest reserves expires, South-West governors are reportedly meeting with the leadership of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria on Monday, January 25, 2021.

The meeting according to Punch would be held in Akure, the state capital.

A source disclosed to the newspaper that the meeting was meant to find lasting solutions to the incessant killings, kidnapping, and the endless crises between herdsmen and farmers in the state.

Due to the rising spate of criminal activities in Ondo, Governor Akeredolu had recently asked Fulani herdsmen grazing on the state’s forest reserves to leave the forests within seven days. 

The governor argued that ‘bad elements’ had turned the forests to their hideouts, where they keep their victims and negotiate ransom. 

However, Ondo State Chairman of MACBAN, Alhaji Bello Garba has confirmed that leaders of the association are already in the state for the peace meeting. 

Garba said, “The National Chairman of Miyetti Allah is in town now and I cannot talk about what we want to discuss at the meeting but I can assure you that we are going to address the press tomorrow after the meeting.”

Earlier, the National President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Bello Bodejo had in a statement said that all lands in Nigeria belonged to the Fulani ethnic group, adding that nobody can chase herdsmen away from the forest reserves in Ondo state.