House Of Reps Asks President Buhari To Stop Illegal Entry Of Foreign Herdsmen Into Nigeria

The House of Representatives has asked the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to stop entry of herdsmen from other African countries into Nigeria.

The matter was raised at plenary on Tuesday, after Rep. Ndudi Elumelu (PDP-Delta), moved a motion urging the government to ban the entry of foreign herdsmen into Nigeria.

Elumelu said the House noted that in recent years, herdsmen had been on rampage, destroying farm lands, burning villages and killing innocent Nigerians indiscriminately in many states across the federation.

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He noted that security agents in the country had consistently stated that the herdsmen were not Nigerians but migrants from other African countries.

“The House is concerned that those herdsmen who are militant in nature have consistently instilled fear in lives of local farmers and villagers living in the affected areas by the use of coercion, intimidation, brute force and extreme violence, in most cases, leaving a large number of persons dead.

“It is concerned that the violent conflicts between the nomadic herders from neighbouring countries and local farmers are escalating by the day to more states of the federation, and if left unchecked, will further threaten the security and stability of the nation.

“The clashes are becoming potentially as dangerous as the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East, yet to date, response to the crisis at both the federal and state levels has been very poor and ineffective.

“The House believes that it has become necessary to lend a voice to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State that a stop be put to the movement of herdsmen from other African countries to Nigeria, so as to curb the rate of crime and conflicts associated with their movements across Nigeria.”

In his ruling, Speaker of the house, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, mandated the Committees on Police Affairs, Army and Interior to interface with security agencies with a view to ensuring implementation and report within four weeks.

The speaker mandated the committees to invite the Inspector-General of Police, the Chief of Army Staff and the Comptroller General of the Nigerian and Immigration Service respectively on the best ways of policing and securing the Nigeria borders.

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