Edo monarchs want military to check herdsmen

Traditional rulers in six local government areas that make up Edo North senatorial district have called on the Federal Government to deploy soldiers as backup to check the menace of herdsmen as they said the Nigerian Police possess inferior weapons to the herdsmen

Edo North is made up of Akoko-Edo, Owan West, Owan East, Etsako West, Etsako East and Etsako Central Local Government Councils.

Briefing journalists in Auchi, headquarters of Etsako West, Otaru of Auchi, Alhaji Aliru Momoh, Ikelegbe III said their women have been raped just as he lamented that the vigilante groups that have in the past dared the criminally minded herdsmen have been demoralised due to irregular payment of their stipends apparently as a result of drop in government finances.

“We have a situation of the menace of Fulani herdsmen that have been operating and disturbing our farmers all over this place, it is increasingly very disturbing.

“Before now, herdsmen have always been coming, they have their routes they pass to the south and other parts over the years. But now there have been issues of destroyed farmlands or people being taken as hostages, kidnappers all over the place that is something that we want government to do something.

We are appealing to the Federal Government to ensure that soldiers are deployed to some of these areas because we now find that the police don’t have the armoury, they don’t have the strength to address or frontally attack these very serious and violent situation that we are into in this country.