Security agencies operating in Kogi State have advised Nigerians not to make the erroneous mistake of tagging Fulani as the only tribe involved in the criminal activity of kidnapping in the country.
The agencies were speaking at the seminar on peaceful coexistence and reducing crime and criminalities in Kogi state jointly organised by Christian Association of Nigeria and Jama’atu Basil Islam.
Speaker after speaker who represented their organisations maintained that a herder does not necessarily mean a Fulani in the Nigeria context and Nigerians should stop christening them as kidnappers.
Participants at the seminar made up of four Fulani herdsmen and an equal number of farmers were drawn from the twenty one local government areas of the state for an interface among them to boost cordial relationship.
The security agencies pointed out that all tribes in the country have bad elements among them, stressing that it was incongruous to attempt to tag a particular tribe as breeding criminals in the country.
They urged landlords, individuals and traditional rulers to identify criminals in their midst and report them to security agencies with a view to meting out appropriate punishment to them.
The secretary to the state government Bolashade Arike who represented the state governor, Yayaha Bello said that the governor who wanted a crime free state was not prepared to seat with criminals and negotiate.
She said that the governor was prepared to deal decisively with any criminal as the case arose.
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