“I’m sad about the killing in Benue but we don’t want brutality in Ekiti. I won’t accept any killing here. The only thing acceptable here is peace. I therefore plead with everybody to cooperate with us.”
These were the words of Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State as he addressed various communities, including Fulani herdsmen and Tiv people in the State, following the killing of a Fulani man by suspected Tiv man in Oke Ako in Ikole Local Government Area of the state.
Governor Fayose confirmed at the meeting that the Fulani man, whose name was given as Babuga Dengi, was killed by members of the Tiv community farming in the area.
Fayose who had recently raised the alarm of an impending invasion of his state by Fulani herdsmen, stressed: “there is no room for the killing of Fulani herders or farmers or anybody in the state.”
The meeting summoned by the governor was attended by the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, farmers, local hunters, security agencies and representatives of the Tiv community.
The governor warned Fulani herdsmen and Tiv farmers against turning Ekiti to a war zone, just as he urged security agents to quickly fish out the killers of the herder.
“I can’t accept anybody to be killed. If anybody killed anyone I will make sure you are killed by ensuring justice,” said Mr. Fayose.
“I want peace in my state and everybody living here is from Ekiti whether you are Fulani, Tiv, Yoruba or anybody. Cow matter can’t cause problem between us. Oke Ako-Irele issue should not be allowed to fester. Cooperate with us and whoever kills would be fished out.
“When you are entering Ekiti, drop wherever you are coming from at the boundary. You can’t kill Yoruba, Fulani, Igbo or Tiv here. From information so far, the deceased died as a result of clash between Fulani herders and some Tiv people, but at that we can’t condone lawlessness. We don’t want that type of Benue issue here.”
A communique proceeding from the meeting however, noted that the problem in Oke Ako was between Tivs and Fulani, and resolved that the people must live in peace.
It urged security agencies to fish out the killers of the herdsman in the area.
The meeting agreed that the committee on herdsmen should be expanded to include Fulani herders while urging the committee to be more proactive and report immediately to security committee when they see strangers in their communities.
“We ask security agencies to do more in intelligence gathering, information and prevention, while we thank them for what they have done so far,” the communique added. [myad]
