Presidency cautions Akeredolu over quit notice to herders

The Presidency has cautioned Ondo State Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), over his seven-day ultimatum to herders to vacate the forests in the state following growing insecurity allegedly traced to the herdsmen.

It said the governor could not could unilaterally issue the quit order without taking cognizance of the constitution that guarantees the rights of citizens to movement and to live in any part of the country.

A statement by President Muhammadu Buhari’s media aide, Mallam Garba Shehu, said the governor ought not to have taken the unilateral step without consulting widely.

Akeredolu, on Monday, had ordered the herdsmen to vacate all government forest reserves in the state within seven days.

The governor gave the order during an interactive meeting in Akure with the leadership of the Hausa/Fulani and Ebira communities.

Besides issuing the quit order, the governor had also banned night grazing in the state and the movement of cattle within cities and highways, while also outlawing under-aged grazing of cattle.

But the presidency asked the state government and the herders to dialogue with a view to addressing the security challenges facing the state.

The statement, entitled: ‘In tackling crime, Ondo State will not act outside the constitution’, noted that although Akeredolu with his pedigree in the first four years as governor fought crime with passion, he could not have asked the herders to leave the state in a jiffy.

It said, “Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, a seasoned lawyer, Senior Advocate of Nigeria and indeed, a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), has fought crime in his state with passion and commitment, greater sensitivity and compassion for the four years he has run its affairs and, in our view, will be the least expected to unilaterally oust thousands of herders who have lived all their lives in the state on account of the infiltration of the forests by criminals.

“If this were to be the case, rights groups will be right in expressing worries that the action could set off a chain of events which the makers of our constitution foresaw and tried to guard against.”

The presidency called for restraint on both sides and urged the state government and the leadership of the Fulani communities to continue their dialogue for a good understanding.

It said, “We want to make it clear that kidnapping, banditry and rustling are crimes, no matter the motive or who is involved.

“But to define crime from the nameplates, as a number of commentators have erroneously done- which group they belong to, the language they speak, their geographical location or their faith is atavistic and cruel.

“We need to delink terrorism and crimes from ethnicity, geographical origins and religion—to isolate the criminals who use this interchange of arguments to hinder law enforcement efforts as the only way to deal effectively with them.”

The statement said the President, who swore to defend the constitution, had spoken against the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in asking citizens of northern origin to leave.

It added that the President did not spare the group based in Sokoto, ‘Muslim Solidarity Forum,’ which asked the Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, to leave, adding that the President was prepared to do all that the law permits to protect citizens all over the country.

“The government of Ondo and all the 35 others across the federation must draw clear lines between the criminals and the law-abiding citizens who must equally be saved from the infiltrators,” it stated.