The Commissioner of Police, Gombe State Command, Mr. Austin Iwar, has warned farmers and members of the state’s Cattle Breeders Association to stop taking laws into their hands and embrace peace.
The commissioner gave the warning at a stakeholders’ meeting organised by the command in Gombe state on Monday.
He said if the feuding parties refuse to embrace peace, more lives and property would likely be lost in the state.
The CP said the meeting was convened to help farmers and members of the cattle breeders association understand each other
Iwar said, “We want everybody to be proactive in resolving this problem whether you are a farmer, herdsman, traditional ruler or security personnel, you are involved, because it affects the economy of the country.
“Everybody has a responsibility in this matter; we are now looking for solutions among ourselves,” he said.
He said measures taken by the police in collaboration with traditional rulers were already yielding positive result, adding that there was “the need to redouble our efforts to sustain the recorded success’’.
The CP also called on the farmers to always stay away from grazing reserves and cattle routes to avoid clashes.
The commissioner advised stakeholders in the meeting to report any disagreement likely to cause a clash to their respective associations for onward passage to authorities for immediate action.
The Chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria in Gombe State, Malam Umar Abdullahi, called on the federal and state governments to be proactive in addressing the incessant clashes between farmers and breeders.
Abdullahi said governments should demarcate spaces allotted to breeders in their jurisdiction from those allotted to farmers to void clashes.
He also called on governments to provide breeders with dams, schools, health facility among others to discourage them from migration and wandering into farmlands.
He said over 80 per cent of the problem encountered with herdsmen were as a result of movement from one part of the country to others and called for immediate and for lasting solution to the disagreements.
