MACBAN, police set panel to check farmers-herders’ clashes in Borno

Borno State Police Command, in partnership with Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), has set a committee to check the perennial clashes between farmers and herders across the state.

Inaugurating the committee, over the weekend, in Maiduguri, the Commissioner of Police, Abdu Umar, said: “This is a source of concern to the state government and security agencies.”

He disclosed that the committee was to provide a lasting solution to the farmers-herders’ clashes over pasture and cattle routes.

The committee, he disclosed, comprises representatives of the security agencies, as well as farmers and herders associations.

He added: “We shall come up with modalities to check the movement of nomadic herders across the state,” lamenting that many lives and property were destroyed in some of the affected local councils.

According to him, the committee will ensure the “surveillance and monitoring” of both parties to promote peaceful coexistence between farmers and herders.

Responding, Chairman of MACBAN, Ahmadu Musa-Karube, called for proactive measures to address the root of the clashes.

He attributed the clashes to lack of cattle routes and the continuous encroachment of various farmlands in the state.

The representative of farmers, Hassan Musa, however, advocated for a ban on night grazing of livestock, including cattle, which eat up some of the crops on farmlands.

He said: “There should also be collaboration between the leadership of farmers and pastoralists in addressing the lingering problems.”