The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and
Publicity, Garba Shehu, has said that Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association
of Nigeria is like Afenifere and Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo socio-cultural groups and
thus should not be criminalised.
He also defended the meeting between the Inspector-General
of Police, Mohammed Adamu, and the leadership of the Miyetti Allah, adding that
the government needed the cooperation of Miyetti Allah to help in tackling
weapons proliferation as the security situation in the country worsens
Shehu, who was a guest on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily on
Tuesday, urged Nigerians not to politicise the meeting, arguing that all
stakeholders have a role to play in ensuring that the nation remains safe.
The Police had come under fire recently for holding a
meeting with the herders and urging them to please assist in curbing the
insecurity in the nation.
The President’s aide, however, said, “It is a mistake to say
the Nigerian government is talking to bandits.
“The Miyetti Allah group is like Ohanaeze and Afenifere. It
is a socio-cultural group. There are criminals within the Yoruba race and you
cannot say because of that, Afenifere is a group of criminals.
“The Nigerian government is speaking with the leadership of
the Fulani herders association, Miyetti Allah.”
When asked if it is true that the herders were offered N100m
to help maintain peace, Shehu said, “That is 100 per cent untrue. I have
confirmed that in all the meetings held, money was never discussed.
“All of the issues were about the involvement of the
leadership of Miyetti Allah and getting them to prevail upon its members and
they are many. We asked them to assist the administration to recover weapons
which were owned by a lot of these elements,” Shehu said.
The presidential aide said it did not directly translate to
amnesty, adding that “it is a win-win situation for all because the cattle
breeders also have their issues which they brought to the government; and the
more discussions take place, the more interesting it becomes.”
The President’s aide further stated that state governments
would be involved in the talks.
He said some of the herders admitted that they went into
crime because they had been dispossessed of their cattle by rustlers.
Shehu added, “These things are being addressed and they are
moving to the next stage.
“In states like Kogi, Benue, Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina and
Niger, they will be talking to the governors so that you can use them. They are
available so that you can help the government to caution and control some of
these things unfolding.”
In his response, however, Emmanuel Onwubiko, the Head of
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, faulted the approach of the
Presidency.
Onwubiko said Miyetti Allah had defended violence in the
past and as such could not be said to be a peaceful organisation like Ohanaeze
and Afenifere.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com