PUNCH

Worried by the influx of Fulani herdsmen into the Niger Delta forests, some stakeholders from the region have appealed to governments in the nine states of the region to rise up to the challenge.

The stakeholders specifically urged governments of the states to promulgate laws that would checkmate the excesses of the herdsmen.

One of them, the Pan Niger Delta Forum, said, “Open grazing and an unhindered movement of herdsmen constitute security risk, especially when the Federal Government is unable to arrest any of these AK47-bearing herdsmen who molest and kill innocent Nigerians and destroy farms and livelihoods.”

PANDEF’s position was contained in a statement on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Ken Robinson, and made available to our correspondent in Warri, Delta State.

According to PANDEF, “The callous and barbaric acts being perpetrated by supposed herdsmen should not be allowed to continue anywhere in Nigeria.

“PANDEF implores governors of the South-South Zone not to condone the unwholesome activities of these marauders parading as herdsmen,” the statement read.

Also, the President General of Uwheru community in the North Local Government Area of Delta State, Chief Cassidy Akpedafe, called on the governments of the states in the South-South geopolitical zone to immediately begin the process of making laws that would stop herdsmen from gaining entry to farmlands by banning open grazing in the respective states.