Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) on Tuesday aligned with the Governor of Kano State, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to end the protocol on free movement which allows herdsmen from other countries to freely move into Nigeria.
Ganduje had last week called for the ban of herdsmen’s movement to end insecurity in the country.
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Backing the call, the Southern, Middle Belt Leaders noted that herdsmen “who carry illegal sophisticated weapons like AK 47 roam free all over Nigeria.”
The forum in a joint statement by Yinka Odumakin (South West); Chief Guy Ikokwu (South East); Senator Bassey Henshaw (South South) and Dr. Isuwa Dogo (Middle Belt) said Ganduje’s position reflects the lawlessness of the armed herdsmen that has led to loss of hundreds of lives across the country.
It called on the President to rise to the duty of his office to protect all Nigerians and hearken to the call of Governor Ganduje to halt these movements and prosecute those who are committing crimes against humanity under the guise of herding.
The forum decried that it took a whole nine months for the police to arrest some of the herdsmen who killed the daughter of Afenifere Leader, Chief Reuben Fasoranti.
“We still have not come to terms with the declaration by the President last year that Africans are free to come to Nigeria and obtain visas on arrival when himself once identified Ghadafi militia men as a bulk of the troublers of Nigeria under the guise of herding,” the group said.
