To protect farmers from frequent attack by herders and restore their confidence to freely go back to farming, Jigsaws stare government has appealed for intervention of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence (NSCDC), Agro Rangers unit.
Jigsaws state governor Umar Namadi made the appeal during a visit to the Commandant General, NSCDC, Dr. Ahmed Audi at the national headquarters of the corps, in Abuja.
In a statement signed by the Director Public Relations of the NSCDC, Olusola Odumosu, Namadi who decried attacks on farmers in the state by herdsmen, expressed the concern of farmers in the state and the challenge of going back to their farms, sought for partnership with the agro rangers unit of the agency to tackle the issues and restore normalcy.
He expressed satisfaction with the performance of the Corps nationwide and lauded CG for providing quality leadership through hard work, dedication and patriotism.
“I want to thank you for the good and commendable performance of the Corps in the area of internal security.
“Within just two years, you have transformed the agency through your hard work and repositioned it for better performance,” he said.
“I want to passionately appeal to you to give us a squad or a team of your Agro Rangers who are well trained and specialised in dealing with the issue at hand”, the governor pleads.
According to him, farmers in the state could not return to their farms due to attacks by herders which has over the years led to fear.
He said prompt intervention of the Corps in providing security for farmers in the affected area will restore their confidence to freely go back to farming.
“If we have that opportunity, it will bring a lasting peace to the area, our people would be able to go to the farm and economic activities in the areas will certainly improve”, he adds.
The governor stated that Jigawa State contributes a lot to the food security of the nation and the affected area was a major point where food was produced for both the people of the state and the nation at large.
Responding, Audi promised to deploy well-trained Agro Rangers personnel to the state to find lasting solutions to the lingering farmers and herders clashes.
“By our Act, NSCDC is mandated to protect and provide security for government’s critical national assets and infrastructure.
“We have over 10,000 staff in the Agro Rangers’ department that are well trained to provide security and safety for farmers and other agro allied products and investments in the nation.
“We concentrate on states that are major producers of food for this nation and Jigawa is one of the states that give food security to this country.
“We have been getting intelligence reports on the way bandits and kidnappers scare farmers and since we have some reserve personnel for this kind of request, we will provide the service that you need”, The CG assured.
Dr .Audi also thanked Gov. Namadi for his support to the Corps in Jigawa State, and assured him of putting a stop to the security challenges facing the agricultural sector.
He said that more effort will be channeled towards peace building through the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), pointing out that in the last two years, over 100 farmer and herder clashes were amicably resolved by the Corps.
