The Adamawa United Forum (AUF) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari
to declare herdsmen as terrorist gang following their incessant killings
across the nation or risk the wrath of other militia groups in the
country.
The spokesman of the group, Musa Jekeko, told journalists yesterday
in Yola that the recent killings in Numan Local Council of the state and
other parts of the country had shown that the herdsmen were deadlier
than Boko Haram.
He said: “Looking at their operations from the prism of objectivity,
it is high time government designated them as terrorists to check the
emergence of other militia groups in our communities.
“Adamawa must remain a peaceful territory, and that depends on the effective handling of security issues in the states.”
“It is no longer in doubt that the Shafuron conflict was generated by
a disagreement over the invasion of farmlands by herdsmen and has
nothing to do with religious or ethnic cleansing.
“From the information available to us, we have every reason to
question the sincerity of government in the handling of the state of
insecurity in Numan and its environs.
“The service chiefs should be held responsible for the monumental
loss incurred during the conflict both in lives and property due to poor
handling of the security situation in the wake of the invasion of
communities around Numan by the militias,” Jekeko said.
The AUF official, however, called on the State House to urgently
enact an anti-open grazing and ranching bill as part of measures to
check the menace.