Residents of the Munga Dosso community in Taraba’s Karim-Lamido Local Government Area have urged the state government to strictly enforce its anti-open grazing ordinance to resolve conflicts between farmers and herders.

The community’s youth leader, Robert Bukar, revealed this to reporters in Jalingo on Monday.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, suspected herders recently attacked the Munga Dosso hamlet, killing many people and destroying property valued at millions of naira.

Bukar noted that the former Gov. Darius Ishaku signed the bill into law in 2018.

He said enforcing the law would address the lingering farmers/herders conflict.

He also decried the absence of the government’s representatives in the crisis-affected community.

The youth leader also said that the community was left to its faith at the time, when 12 residents of the community, who were given a mass burial, were killed by suspected herders.

“Notably, no federal, state, or local government representatives visited the community after this incident. However, we were disappointed by the lack of government representation at the mass burial, where officials failed to commiserate with our people.

” It is true that the state government sent relief materials to the victims, but relief materials are not our problem. We expected their solidarity at the time. The aftermath of such violence has tragically resulted in not only fatalities but also a significant number of injuries and displacements.” 

The youth leader urged the government to enhance security presence, enabling farmers to resume their agricultural activities safely.

Furthermore, he called upon the Taraba government to ensure that the newly established administrative inquiry committee conducts a thorough investigation. This would lead to identifying and punishing those responsible for the recent assaults.

Source:  Punch

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