Ben Ezechime, Enugu
The chairman of Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State, Dr Eric Odo, has called on the Federal Government to declare herdsmen bearing arms and causing havoc in the country as terrorists.
Odo said that declaring them terrorists would enable the security agencies and the Armed Forces, to deal decisively with their criminal tendences.
Odo made this call on Monday in Enugu at a two-day Institutional Strengthening and Agenda Setting Meeting with Enugu LGA chairmen organised by the Actionaid Nigeria in collaboration with the South-Saharan Social Development Organisation (SSDO).
The council chairman urged President Bola Tinubu to summon the political courage and declare them terrorist, the same way the Federal Government did with other violent groups.
“We felt that it will be proper for us to be courageous enough to say that this is the time at which we can halt this menace and give our people peace, especially the farmers, so they can go back to farm.
“Everybody talks about food insufficiency and unavailability and all these things, stem from the insecurity that we are witnessing around our places.
“I want to use this opportunity to call on the service chiefs, the National Security Adviser (NSA) and those advising Mr President that time has come for him to declare the armed herders in this country a terrorist organisation.
“We talk about herders who roam about the streets and bushes, terrorising people, destorying property, cutting people’s farm, and the rest of them.
“So we felt that if this category of people can be properly classified and given a name that they truly deserve the whole security will come after them.
“If they do so, I will tell you that the problem of insecurity in this country will be half-solved, because that is the only time the police, the army, the Civil Defence, the custom, they will all fight them the way terrorists should be fought,” Odo said.
He emphasised that time had come for politicians to damn the consequences and fight against the armed herders and other criminal elements in the country.
In a keynote address, a security expert, Mr Uche Okanume, urged the council chairmen to work closely with the Neighborhood Watch and Forest Guards to provide adequate security to the people.
According to him, the inability of the Police and the Army to respond to emergency security situations has made it essential for Neighborhood Watch and Forest Guards to bridge the gap.
The security expert revealed that many markets in Isi-uzo, Uzo-Uwani and parts of Udenu LGAs in Enugu State, have shut down because of insecuritry, urging the state government to urgently intervene to stop the situation.
Okanume appealed to the council chairmen to ensure that those recruited into the Neighborhood Watch and Forest Guards are the right people, who have the capacity to do the job effectively.
Earlier in his opening remark, the Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria represented by the Head of Programme, Mr Okwudili Odo, said the meeting was part of their collaboration with the government to strengthen democratic governance in Enugu State.
“Today’s dialogues present a platform to align our priorities, strengthen our partnership and most importantly, set a clear agenda that speaks to the needs, aspirations and realities of the people across the LGAs.
“This platform also offers us the opportunity to provide ideas aimed at strengthening institutions for the LGAs for effective and efficient gender responsive public service delivery.
“We recognize that local government is the closest tier to the people, and it is here that transformative change can happen most rapidly, if participatory approaches are adopted,” he noted.
