Disturbed by incessant clashes between farmers and herders, the Ekiti State Government, yesterday, said it was making alternative arrangement for enclosed grazing/ranching under the National Livestock Transformation Plan in the state.
It also directed the Ekiti State Command of the Nigeria Police and Amotekun Corps to mobilise troops within 24 hours to comb the forests in Ikole Local Council and secure the area from further attacks.
In a statement in Ado-Ekiti, the state’s Commissioner for Information and Value Orientation, Mr. Akin Omole, said that Ekiti State placed great value on safety of life and property of its residents.
“While we will continue to promote peaceful co-existence of all law-abiding Nigerians irrespective of ethnic or religious background, government will not condone acts of mindless violence that creates fear among the people or deter them from going about their lawful duties in safety on their farms or in their communities.
“It is clear that the Ikole/Oye axis of the state is vulnerable to incursions by criminally-minded elements who want to take advantage of the forest topography to visit unmitigated terror on farming communities in the area. We will not allow this to happen.
“To this effect, the Commissioner of Police has been directed to commence investigation immediately to apprehend the culprits responsible for the dastardly act and bring them to justice.
“We reiterate that in consonance with the recent Akure peace meeting and joint communiqué issued by South-West governors and the Miyetti Allah, open/night grazing and underage herding remain banned in Ekiti State.
“Similarly, in line with the President’s recent directive, anyone armed with automatic weapons found in Ekiti forests will be considered a dangerous criminal and treated accordingly by security operatives.
“Accordingly, residents of the affected communities are requested to assist the security agencies with useful information that will lead to arrest of the perpetrators of the crime,” the statement stated.
