Herdsmen have been killing people across the country. Opinions are divided on the way out. Some have suggested a National Grazing Bill to solve the problem. But, Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi and others, including lawyers, have opposed the bill because it is against the Land Use Act. JOSEPH JIBUEZE writes.
From their simple nomadic life, they seem to have transformed to killers. Herdsmen kill, maim, torch and loot communities. The latest of such attacks was their invasion last Monday of the Ukpabi-Nimbo community in Enugu State. Forty-eight persons were killed, 56 others injured and 60 houses torched.
The nation was outraged by the incident. Many blamed the government for what they described as its lukewarm approach to the issue. They accused President Muhammadu Buhari of keeping mum in the face of the herdsmen’s threat to national security. What is the way out?
Grazing Bill
Some have suggested that a grazing Bill will address the menace. It proposes the creation of grazing reserves accross the country for herdsmen. The Senate has denied that such bill is before it. But the bill is before the House of Representatives, which moved to consolidate two similar bills.
The first is a Bill for an Act to establish the National Grazing Route and Reserve Commission. The Bill provides that the commission will establish and control Grazing Routes and Reserves in all parts of Nigeria. It is said to be sponsored by Karimi Steve Sunday, PDP, Yagba East/Yagba West/Mopamuro Federal Constituency, Kogi State.
The second is a Bill for an Act to create a Department of Cattle Ranches under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture or any such Ministry overseeing the production and rearing of cattle. It was reportedly sponsored by Dickson Tarkighir (Makurdi/Guma Federal Consti-tuency, Benue State).
According to a notice paper of the House of Representatives for the week March 14 to March 18, consolidation of both bills was scheduled for March 15.
The Grazing Bill designates some land as possible National Grazing Reserves and Stock Routes, such as land at the disposal of the Federal Government; any land in respect of which it appears to the commission that grazing on such land should be practiced, and any land acquired by the commission through purchase, assignment, gift or otherwise howsoever.
The bill also provides that the commission shall pay compensation on any land acquired; it has power to negotiate with holders of statutory or customary rights of occupancy for the purpose of assignment of land to the commission.
The commission may take over the ownership, control and management of any existing grazing reserve and stock routes from any state on agreed terms with the state concerned.
The bill says the commission shall pay compensation on any land it acquires, while any disputes over claim for compensation shall be referred to the Land Use Allocation Committee of the state concerned.
Sections 20, 21, and 22 of the bill, empowers the grazing commission to only give notice to a governor of a state whose land is intended to be acquired, among others.
Bill rejected
The bill has been criticised for having no provision for the governor’s consent. Oyo State governor Abiola Ajimobi, has warned against any proposal to seize or allocate land across Nigeria for use as grazing reserves.
To him, such plan would be ill-advised and against the spirit of overriding public interest, and would not be allowed in his state.
“This is the time to call a spade a spade,” Ajimobi said at the launch of “AgricOyo”, the state’s agriculture initiative. “Those clamouring for creation of grazing zones across the country should have a rethink. It is against the Land Use Act; it is against the law of natural justice to seize people’s land to cater for someone’s cattle.
“Grazing zones could be created for those who are traditional cattle rearers in their areas. I’m not against that. But, you cannot come here and tell me you want to occupy our land for grazing zones. The land exists in our respective states and as such the rightful owners should decide what to do with them.
“Anybody outside this zone willing to rear cattle here will need to approach the state to buy the land and we offer what is available with rules. There is no free land for grazing zones. We need to take this firm position. It won’t happen.”
A lawyer, Clement Udegbe, said: “Consent of the state concerned ought to be obtained to avoid conflicts, disputes and trouble. Consent should be in a written form with the signatures of the community heads, traditional rulers, the House of Assembly, and the governor.
“An aggrieved community must have the right to seek redress in court. Any law like this bill that seeks dexterously to kill or muffle the right of redress in court is unconstitutional, and must not be allowed. The omission of consent from ancestral or traditional land owners betrays the manipulative intentions of this bill.”
A Lagos lawyer, Ucheakolam Adim, said: “A bill that empowers a commission to take away any land it deems fit for the purpose of grazing reserves or stock routes is obviously not protecting any individual because every individual in Nigeria would then live in the fear of their land being taken away.
“It suffices to say that this bill seeks to create an unchallengeable leviathan. The bill also provides that compensation would be given to any individual whose land is taken away by the commission. However, the bill fails to define the compensation payable and what would suffice as a reasonable compensation in any circumstance,” she said.
Olanipekun, Ofuokwu suggest way out
Analysts say the herdsmen’s attacks bring to the fore the futility of continuing with the current policing system. They say it offers a compelling reason for state police.
Some have suggested military action, as the danger posed by the herdsmen seems to have assumed terrorist proportions.
Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) said the National Grazing Bill is not the solution.
“Initiation of a bill establishing a National Grazing Reserve and Development Commission in a supposed federal system of government like Nigeria, is uncalled for and should not even be toyed with for several reasons.
“Nigeria is not a unitary state, although unitarism is being foisted on us and we are unfortunately acquiescing. Such a bill would be unconstitutional and illegal, as well as unreasonable and provocative.
“Section 1 of the Land Use Act vests all land within the territory of a state in the governor of the state and not in the President.
“The contents of the bill appear to me, to be a direct call on the herdsmen to invade and conquer everywhere/state where the grazing reserve passes through and, by extension, all the states of the federation,” Olanipekun said.
Besides, he said, the bill is “one-sided” as it does not provide requisite punishment for any herdsman who trespasses from the designated reserve routes to another person’s land or house.
“The bill only punishes the ‘landlords’ and leaves the ‘tenants’ unchecked. The bill cannot be a solution to the random killings, rape, abduction and violent crimes presently associated with herdsmen who are armed with AK-47 rifles while tending their flock.
“If the government is minded to push such a bill through, by parity of reasoning and logic, then it must also create, by statutory fiat, a similar canopy of corresponding routes for the average cocoa farmers in some states to transport, warehouse and market their cocoa products across Nigeria.
“The statutory cover should also extend to every other profession, trade and vocation. On a serious note, introduction of such a bill is outrightly ill-advised and ill-conceived.
“The Federal Government should muster courage to decisively deal with any herdsman who goes on rampage to kill, maim, capture, rape and destroy,” Olanipekun said.
A constitutional lawyer, Ike Ofuokwu, believes the bill, if passed, will exacerbate rather than solve the problem.
“The proposed National Grazing Reserve Bill, to me is simply irresponsible and a calculated and deliberate attempt to legalise economic criminality of grabbing someone’s land to cater for the economic and business interest of another, that is to say robbing Peter to pay Paul.
“The proposed bill, if allowed to scale through, would be a recipe for violence and civil disorder which will do this country no good. More so, it will run contrary to the spirit and intent of the Land Use Act and the customary means of land holding,” he said.
According to him, the herdsmen are private business men, adding that if they desired a grazing reserve anywhere, they should pool resources to acquire land for it from any community or persons willing to sell land. Ofuokwu said it should not be a national issue.
“The question that we need to ask is why, all of a sudden, this hitherto peaceful nomadic people, who over the years go about doing their cattle businesses without any molestation and were never hostile to their host communities, decided to jettison their traditional sticks, cutlasses, bows and arrows for the modern AK47 rifles?”
Ofuokwu expects the government to go tough on the killer-herdsmen. “What was done to those that carried out the genocide in Agatu and other communities before the Enugu massacre? Could this be Boko Haram disguising as herdsmen?
“Permit me to say that they have sponsors who acquire these arms for them and who own the cattle. So, even if they were given the grazing reserves, it will not take away the AK47 from them.
“Hence, we need to disarm them first. Failure to do so could put this country in disarray,” he said.
Will the attacks end?
For years, suspected Fulani herdsmen have been in the news for the wrong reasons. In February, 10 Agatu communities were razed and hundreds reportedly massacred by suspected Fulani herdsmen. Former Senate president David Mark’s convoy was ambushed in Agatu when he went to assess what he described as genocide.
Herdsmen’s attacks did not start today. Reports say 30 people were killed in Galadima Village and another 200 in Zamfara State last April. Ninety-seven persons were reportedly killed last June in Motokun Village in Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State and in Ninji and Ropp villages in Plateau State.
Last September, three persons were said to have been killed in Ndokwa West in Delta State. A middle-aged woman was raped and killed in Edo State. Last November, 22 men and women were reportedly killed in Ojeh in Dekina, Kogi State.
On April 9, Fulani herdsmen and youths clashed in Edo. It was gathered the youths were on a revenge attack following the killing of a 64-year- old farmer, Alex Idemitin, whose neck was sliced.
Last November 8, Fulani herdsmen allegedly killed Chinwuba Ekwueme in Egede in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State. Chairman of the Egede Neighbourhood Watch Mr. Donatus Otie said Ekwueme died from gunshot wounds after herdsmen fired at his group.
On January 24, the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Vunokilang Police Station in Girei Local Government Area of Adamawa State was among 30 people killed in an attack by suspected Fulani herdsmen on a Sunday morning.
Our cattle were attacked
From a group of stick-wielding pastoralists, living essentially a nomadic life, the Fulani herdsmen have transformed into an arms-bearing fighting force, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.
According to the 2015 Global Terrorism Index, which classifies the herdsmen as a militants, only Iraq and Afghanistan suffered worse terror attacks than Nigeria in 2014.
Of the 20 deadliest terror attacks globally in 2014, nine occurred in Nigeria, with Boko Haram, which overtook the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria as the deadliest terror group, taking credit for eight.
The ninth, an attack in Galadima, which claimed over 200 lives, was attributed to Fulani herdsmen. While Boko Haram attacks claimed 6,644 lives, Fulani herdsmen, named as the fourth deadliest in the world, were responsible for 1,229 lives, the report said.
The Army is said to be holding 92 Fulani herdsmen arrested with arms at a military checkpoint between the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Nasarawa State.
Assistant Director, Army Public Relations of the Guards Brigade Capt. Bashir Jajira said 36 of the suspects claimed that they were on a mission to recover their stolen cows.
He said the 56 others were arrested by the soldiers at a military checkpoint at Dantata on the Abuja Airport Road.
He said the troops recovered “one pump action gun, 19 cartridge dane guns, 118 cartridge ammo, 28 cutlasses, three jack knives, 14 sticks, seven torch lights, certificate of occupancy, assorted charms and hard drugs.”
The Fulani community in Benue accused Agatu natives of killing 10,000 cattle belonging to its members.
Ado Boderi, a Fulani community leader, during a meeting involving Agatu community, Fulani community and Inspector-General of Police Solomon Arase, said criminal elements from both sides escalated the crisis. He described Fulani herdsmen as peace-loving people whose main concern was the problem of cattle rustling.
Prior to last Monday’s attack in the Enugu community, some criticised President Muhammadu Buhari for not condemning the herdsmen activities. But, last Wednesday, he vowed that his administration would continue to ensure the safety of Nigerians in all parts of the country.
President Buhari, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said: “The armed forces and police have clear instructions to take all necessary action to stop the carnage.”
Can the police cope?
Arase said the 305,000 -strong police is not enough to guarantee security to the country.
The IGP, while delivering a lecture at the University of Jos (UNIJOS), said policing in Nigeria is particularly difficult because of inadequate logistic and resources (especially transportation, telecommunication, arms and ammunition and accommodation).
“The challenges notwithstanding, citizens also have a responsibility towards the police. The police will be ineffective if the citizens constantly disrespect, distrust, assault, insult and antagonise the police. Chapter 2 of the Constitution obliges citizens to assist the law enforcement agencies as civic responsibility. Unfortunately, most citizens are either unaware of this obligation or chose to ignore it,” he said.
Prosecute suspects
The Senate has raised a six-man ad-hoc panel to conduct a public hearing this week on the killings by herdsmen. The decision was taken after debate on last Monday’s killings in the Enugu community. They also called for the prosecution of suspects.
Nobel laureate Prof Wole Soyinka also lashed out at the presidency for its seeming inability to rein in herdsmen.
His words: “I have yet to hear this government articulate a firm policy of non-tolerance for the serial massacres that have become the nation’s identification stamp.
“I have not heard an order given that any cattle herders caught with sophisticated firearms be instantly disarmed, arrested, placed on trial, and his cattle confiscated. The nation is treated to an 18-month optimistic plan which, to make matters worse, smacks of abject appeasement and encouragement of violence on innocents.
“Let me repeat, and of course I only ask to be corrected if wrong: I have yet to encounter a terse, rigorous, soldierly and uncompromising language from this leadership, one that threatens a response to this unconscionable blood-letting that would make even Boko Haram repudiate its founding clerics.”
~THE NATION
