Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano Tuesday ordered for the headcount of all herdsmen in the state.
The governor said that after the headcount, the state government would no longer allow the passage of itinerant herdsmen in the state.
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The governor ordered for the headcount at a one-day stakeholders’ security summit in Awka, the state capital.
He said itinerant herdsmen were the ones perpetrating armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent crimes in the state, and vowed to treat them as criminals.
He said immediately after the headcount, police and other security agencies in the state would treat roaming herdsmen in the state as criminals.
He said: “You should treat any itinerant herdsmen as criminals. Security report shows that it’s these itinerant herders that commit all manner of crimes to have their way through.
“They are the people that kill, kidnap, rape and harass the people with impunity. Those of them carrying any type of firearms should be treated as armed robbers.
“We have a census of the number of herdsmen resident in Anambra state and by the last census in January last year, they were 77 and I have directed our new police commissioner to carry out another census, and after the census, we will not allow herdsmen into Anambra State or passing through Anambra State.”
The governor vowed that any traditional ruler found wanting in security matters in his domain or failed to hold the mandatory periodic meetings of “cattle menace committee” would be dethroned in line with the laws establishing the committee.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, represented by Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Finance and Administration, Joseph Egbunike, expressed worries over the activities of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra whom he accused of fomenting trouble in the South East.
He said IPOB members were attacking and burning police stations.
