Inspector general of police finally declares war on armed Fulani cattle herdsmen

NIGERIA'S inspector general of police Solomon Arase has finally declared war on armed Fulani cattle herdsmen who have been terrorising the country of late with ferocious assaults on local farming communities using automatic weapons.

 

Over recent years, there have been incessant clashes between the herdsmen and local communities with brutal consequences as the Fulani are armed to the teeth with AK47 and FN Fal assault rifles. When livestock destroy crops and local farming communities complain, the response of the cattle herders has been brutal, often leaving hundreds dead following military-style assaults.

 

Exasperated with the constant loss of life that this has entailed, Mr Arase has finally decided to act, pointing out that the police force does not issue gun licences to herdsmen and will from henceforth clamp down on any one of them found to be in possession of firearms without a licence. According to Mr Arase, any herdsman found carrying guns would be arrested and prosecuted under the law of the land.

 

Mr Arase added: “We have always confiscated illegal and prohibited firearms and prosecuted those arrested. The police cannot issue firearms licence to herdsmen, so we are encouraging citizens to provide information on illegal arms across the country as public safety is the absolute priority.”

 

He pointed out that all applications for firearms’ licence must follow the right procedures and the police cannot issue out firearms licence to anyone that is not qualified to possess one. According to Mr Arase, there are procedures required to obtain firearms licences and if you do not follow the procedure and do not meet the requirements, you will not be granted approval to possess one.

 

Delta State police commissioner Alkali Baba Usman, said the command had arrested many Fulani herdsmen and interrogated them over allegations of farm destructions and killings. He added: “We are not afraid of arresting any Fulani herdsmen if found to have committed an offence but we work within the ambit of the law.

 

“As regards the arms, they obtain permission to protect their cows. When they are arrested, we treat them as suspects until they are charged to court if necessary.”

 

Niger State Police Command spokesperson, Bala Elkana, said Fulani herdsmen were not allowed by law to bear firearms to look after their cattle and that anyone of them found with arms would be treated like a criminal. He added that the command had confiscated over 20 AK47 guns, 70 dane guns, 30 double barrelled guns and over 1,000 rounds of live ammunition from Fulani cattle herdsmen.