Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, has warned that if no urgent and dras¬tic measures were taken to curb the excesses of Fu¬lani herdsmen killing and maiming local farmers across the country, Nigeria might soon be history.
Ikpeazu who was react¬ing to the recent attack of Ukpabi Nimbo community in Uzouwani Local Council of Enugu State by Fulani herdsmen that claimed over 40 lives, described the attack as very provocative and a threat to Nigeria’s peace and corporate exis¬tence.
The governor who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Godwin Adindu, strongly con-demned the unwarranted attack and called on the Federal Government to rise to the occasion.
His words: “The Gover¬nor condemns the carnage and wanton destruction of human lives meted out to the defenceless people of Nimbo by the herds¬men and also condemns the excesses of the herds¬men across Nigeria, warn¬ing that the situation could degenerate into a national crisis if drastic measures are not taken by the Federal Government to checkmate the rampage.
“The herdsmen’s auda¬cious killings and sacking of communities and farm¬lands constitute another national security chal¬lenge and a huge threat to the peace and unity of the country, stressing that the trend is a time-bomb wait¬ing to explode.”
Ikpeazu expressed worry over how the security ap¬paratus of the country had been treating the dangerous trend with kid gloves, “re¬sulting in more invasion of communities by the herds¬men, from Agatu, through Ondo, Delta, to Benue and now Enugu.”
The governor further observed that the herds¬men could be another dis¬guised form of terrorism and insurgency and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to nip this trend in the bud before it gets out of hand like Boko Haram.
He commiserated with the families who lost their loved ones in the midnight carnage and prayed God to give them the fortitude to bear the painful experience.
In a related development, a constitutional lawyer and human rights activist, Dr Anthony Agbazuere called on the Federal Govern¬ment, to as a matter of ur¬gency, checkmate the im¬punity of Fulani herdsmen before “it is too late”.
He recalled that Boko Haram “started gradually this way while the govern¬ment of the day never took it seriously until it became a nightmare”.
