The Governor of Kogi State, Idris Wada, at the weekend, said the recurring clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in the North-central states was constituting a major security challenge in this part of the country, with the attendant loss of lives and property.
Wada, who stated this when he received the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Peaceful Resolution and Dialogue in the Northern parts of Nigeria, Alhaji Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (SAN), who led members of the committee on a two-day visit, said there was an urgent need for the committee to use the assignment to review the laws regarding the movement of cattle and herdsmen in the country.
He noted that this was a major source of frictions between the herdsmen and farmers, especially in Benue and Nasarawa States, which, thereafter, led to an influx of refugees into Kogi State.
The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Mr. Yomi Awoniyi, told the committee that the peace and tranquillity currently being enjoyed in the state was as a result of the proactive security measures put in place by the state government.
Wada, who commended the federal government for the state of emergency rule declared in some troubled states, as well as the proscription of militant groups, stated that the decision was the right step in the right direction towards achieving peace in the country.
Earlier in his address, Turaki said the committee was established to find a lasting solution to security problems bedeviling the country, especially in the North.
While noting that the nation was not at war, Turaki said the establishment of the committee underscored the seriousness the government attached to its bid to resolve the security challenges in the country.
