House of Representatives, on Tuesday, called on the Federal Government to stop the alleged entry of herdsmen from other African countries into Nigeria.
This followed a unanimous adoption of a motion by Rep. Ndudi Elumelu (PDP-Delta), during plenary
Elumelu, while moving the motion, said in recent years, rampaging herdsmen had been destroying farmlands, burning villages and killing innocent Nigerians indiscriminately in many states in the country.
The lawmaker said that security agencies had consistently stated that those herdsmen were not Nigerians but migrants from other neighbouring countries.
He said those herdsmen who were militant in nature had consistently instilled fears in the lives of local farmers and villagers living in the affected areas, adding that the herdsmen used coercion, intimidation, brute force, and extreme violence, in most cases, leaving a large number of persons dead.
Elumelu said, “The violent conflicts between the nomadic herders from neighbouring countries and local farmers are escalating by the day to more states of the federation, and if left unchecked will further threaten the security and stability of the nation.
“The clashes are becoming potentially as dangerous as the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast.
“Yet to date, response to the crisis at both the federal and state levels has been very poor and ineffective.
“It has become necessary to lend a voice to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State that a stop is put to the movement of herdsmen from other African countries to Nigeria.
“This is to curb the rate of crimes and conflicts associated with their movements across Nigeria.”
Speaker of the house, Femi Gbajabiamila, mandated the Committees on Police Affairs, Army, and Interior to liaise with security agencies with a view to ensuring implementation and report within four weeks.
He mandated the committees to invite the Inspector-General of Police, the Chief of Army Staff, and the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, respectively, to deliberate on the best ways of policing and securing the country’s borders.