PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI’S SILENCE OVER FULANI HERDSMEN KILLINGS INSPIRING THEM TO KILL MORE – GANI ADAMS.

Buhari & Adams.

The Aare Ona Kakanfo in Council on Sunday said President Muhammadu Buhari’s silence in the face of murderous attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen was distressing as it encouraged the marauders to continue more attacks on innocent citizens.

The council chaired by Iba Gani Adams at its meeting on Sunday also issued an ultimatum to the killer herdsmen who have allegedly been unleashing mayhem on residents in the South-West region to vacate every inch of Yorubaland they currently occupy, saying failure to do so may result in retaliatory attacks.

While demanding concrete action by the Buhari administration and improved security in the South-West, the body said Fulani herdsmen had been ravaging Yorubaland, kidnapping, killing, maiming, raping the people in recent years.

The council said: “We cannot continue to fold our arms and let these bandits continue to soil our land with the blood of the innocent. Consequently, we hereby ask these Fulani marauders to stop their murderous activities and vacate every inch of Yorubaland they currently ravage.

“Failure to reconcile themselves with these terms may warrant maximum retaliation as the principle dictates that a bully only respects a bully.

“We demand concrete action by the Buhari administration over the activities of these murderous gangs. We are no longer comfortable with the continuing brutalisation and murderous humiliation of our people.

“Government’s silence is distressing as it is emboldening the criminals. President Buhari must act now. They need to understand that their seeming stillness about this plague is a tacit alignment with the forces of evil.”

It said the threat posed to their existence by the marauders could not be overlooked, and lamented that despite several appeals, the herdsmen had continued to wreak havoc in the region.

It added: “They have proven that they have come to steal, destroy, and kill; as evident in the unmitigated attacks on communities where their nomadic enterprise takes them.

“As true spawns of Oduduwa, we are unequivocally forthright about this threat posed by this group which the Federal Government has turned a blind eye to by refusing to call a spade by its name, dubbing the Fulani marauders as criminals, bandits, and pillagers.

“We are acquainted with the nature of Fulani nomads in the past, and we know as a matter of fact that they were not carrying AK47s. It is because of this naked truth that we ask that these people be labelled as what they are. We are clamouring that the appropriate moniker should be used to tag them. They should be addressed as Fulani bandits.

“We strongly advise Obas and local chiefs to show more than passing interest in the activities of people in their domains. They must know that they cannot be blameless for their failure to account for and monitor strangers in their areas of jurisdictions, particularly those whose activities run contrary to peaceful coexistence.

“We demand concrete action by the Buhari administration over the activities of these murderous gangs. We are no longer comfortable with the continuing brutalisation and murderous humiliation of our people. Government’s silence is distressing as it is emboldening the criminals. President Buhari must act now.”

The council also said it would declare as persona non grata any Yoruba sons and daughters in position of authority who failed to speak out against the ills of the killer herdsmen.

“On this note, we warn all Yoruba sons and daughters in power that they risk being declared persona non grata if they fail to use their capacities to speak up against the ills, injustice, and pestilence ravaging Yorubaland,” the council said.

The council also named locations where violent herdsmen use as hideouts.

These include: “Orile-Owu to Ijebu-Ode forest, Osun & Ogun State. Their major hideout. Ilesha, Ife, Aramoko, Ijero, Esa-Oke, Ikire, Gbogan, Ode-Omu, Ifewara, Ibadan to Ife Road, Ife to Akure Road, Ikesha to Oshogbo, and environs. Osun State.

“Osi, Igede, Ilupeju, Ikole, Ado, Ikere, and environs. Ekiti State. Reserve Forest, Gberia in Kayomo L.G, less Bariba in Barikin L.G, Shaki to Kwara, Oro, and all Igbomina environs, Offa, and environs. Kwara State.

“Ibarapa Area, Iseyin, Shaki, Abeokuta to Shaki-Iseyin Road Okeogun area, Old Ibadan to Oyo Road, New Oyo express to Ogbomosho, and environs. Oyo State. Imeko, Ijale pa-pa, Kara close to Berger in Lagos, Ogere, Bakatari, Kila, Shagamu, Itokin, Abeokuta to Ibadan Road, and environs. Ogun State.

“Ilesha to Akure, Ore, Akure to Benin, Akure to Ido-Ani. Akure to Ondo Road, Oke Igbo, Ondo to Ore Road, the Akoko’s, Ogbese, Epinmi, etc. Very important, please note: most of the Akoko towns and villages are flash points. Ondo State.

“Alaba Rago, Agege, Mile 12, Ajegunle, Ilepo Oba Ikorodu, Lekki town, Ajah, Epe, and environs. Lagos State. Yagba West, Kabba, Ijumu, Yagba East, and environs. Kogi State.”

Source: Daily Independent.