For the first time since the crisis between Fulani herders and farmers in Benue State boiled over with the killings of many people, the National Secretary of the Fulani socio-cultural organisation, Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Saleh Alhassan, and Governor Samuel Ortom embraced publicly on Saturday in Makurdi, the state capital.
At the historic meeting, brokered by the chairman of Air Peace Airline, Mr. Allen Ifechukwu Onyema, and which took place at a wedding ceremony in the capital, Alhassan apologised to Ortom over herdsmen attacks that claimed hundreds of lives in the state.
At a peace meeting, both men pledged their commitment to peace in the state.
The Miyetti Allah’s National Secretary issued the apology during a peace meeting held in Makurdi. The association promised to work towards harmonious coexistence between farmers and herders in the state.
Terver Akase, Chief Press Secretary to the governor, confirmed, in a press statement, that the peace initiative was brokered by the Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema.
“The Miyeitti Allah scribe described Governor Ortom as a peace-loving man who stood firmly for the emancipation of his people,”Akase said in a statement.
“Alhasan gave assurance that members of the group would embrace the peace initiatives put forward by the Governor.”
The Chief Press Secretary further informed that Ortom told the Miyeitti Allah group that the enactment of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law by Benue State Government was not targeted at any particular ethnic stock. But it was a necessary instrument to end the killing of innocent people; and encourage ranching as the global best practice for animal husbandry.
Ortom stated that any person or ethnic group wishing to rear livestock in the state was free to acquire land and do so according to the provisions of the state’s ranching law.
The Governor noted that the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law protects both farmers and livestock owners, adding that legislation was not meant to stoke any crisis.
Speaking at the event, the mediator, and Chairman of Air Peace, Mr. Onyema had earlier emphasised the need for peaceful coexistence between farmers and herders in Benue State, saying he personally brought Alhassan to broker peace between the Miyetti Allah group and the people of the state.
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