A directive from the Ekiti state governor, Ayodele Fayose, will now see herdsmen who wish to graze their cattle in Ekiti State henceforth register with the state government on yearly basis. He said herdsmen in the state will now have to pay the sum of five thousand naira (N5,000) as registration fee each year. In his words:
“Many of the Fulani herdsmen who settled down here did so without permission from anyone. No one can be living with us and we – their host – would not know who they are. They said there are some strangers who only come briefly but we don’t want that. Now, they would register with government for a token of N5,000. It is not their money that we need but their identity and locality. The sum of N5,000 would be renewable after a year.”
“We are sending a bill to the State Assembly, which would be that anyone caught and found guilty of harbouring dangerous Fulani herdsmen would be jailed for five years without an option of fine,” Fayose said on Saturday while reacting to the recent killing of a Tiv woman in Orin Ekiti by people suspected to be Fulani herders.
The governor had a peace meeting with Fulani herdsmen under the aegis of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, farmers, local hunters, security agencies and representatives of the Tiv community in Ado Ekiti.
He promised to mobilize enough government and security agents to fish out the troublemakers. He also warned the Serikin Fulani in the state, Muhammed Abashe, that he would be held responsible for any further attack in the state.
“If you (Fulani herders) still want to stay among us, you must accept the responsibility to ensure that none of our peoples’ farms are destroyed by herdsmen any longer. None of our people must be killed by your men, either they are strangers or those herdsmen living among us.
“If any killing or destruction of farms of our people occurs again in that area, I will ensure that I use the law to fight you, their leader, on it. This is the last warning I am giving you,” he said.