Northern coalition asks FG to evacuate all herders from south

The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has asked the federal government to relocate all herdsmen currently in the south “back home”.

Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, the spokesman of the group, said the south is no more safe for the herders.

The call follows the resolution by governors of the southern region to enforce the ban on open grazing.

The governors had said the decision was taken as part of efforts to improve security in the region.

In reaction, the CNG released a statement on Tuesday saying the security of herders can no longer be guaranteed.

“The systematic vilification of the herdsmen at official level, it is important to evacuate them peacefully since apparently their security could not be guaranteed in their host communities in the southern part of the country,” Suleiman said in the statement.

“A study has shown that with all the overhyped hatred for the pastoral communities by the South and their leaders, only 10 per cent of herders live in the entire South which can conveniently be accommodated in the North.”

The CNG also called on northern governors to commence preparation to receive the returning herders and their livestock assets by identifying suitable grazing lands for them and making sufficient allowance for farmers.

The group called on President Muhammadu Buhari and northern governors “to act now to protect law-abiding members of Fulani communities” from the “aggressive policy of the southern governors”.