Igbo group, cattle breeders hold peace meeting

In what could be described as a proactive step to prevent a repeat of the recent Benue massacre in the South East, a socio-cultural group of young Igbo professionals, Ochie Igbo, yesterday, held a peace-building meeting with representatives of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.

According to the convener and initiator, Mr. Benedict Okoro, Ochie Igbo decided on the meeting to ensure that citizens of Igbo states bordering Benue were not taken unawares, and build citizen vigilance and harmonious co-existence.

Okoro, who is a graduate of Security Studies from the University of Manchester, England, disclosed that similar meetings have been planned for Enugu and Anambra States, stressing that such synergy was necessary to build understanding and stop incessant clashes between herders and farmers in the country.

He said representatives of Ebonyi State government attended the event. He said during the meeting, representatives of MACBAN expressed their frustration over the activities of migrant and faceless herdsmen who roam freely.

He said the herders expressed regrets that the committee set up by Ebonyi State government to monitor the activities of herdsmen in the state was comatose.

“Apostle Benjamin Obaji, the Technical Assistant to the Governor on Inter-Party Affairs, who was at the meeting, explained that the change of the state Attorney General was responsible for the inactivity of the committee,” said Okoro.

Ochie Igbo, he added, plans to link up with leaders of MACBAN in the entire South East, pointing out that the next meeting would be an expanded consultation with various groups in the zone.