Taraba Fulani herders pledge to flush out criminals

The leadership of Fulani herders in Taraba comprising Ardos and Fulani community leaders drawn from 14 of the 16 local government areas of the state have pledged to weed out criminal elements among them within five months.

They told the Emir of  Muri, Alhaji Abbas Tafida, at his palace in Jalingo, yesterday, that the decision was reached following series of meetings they held to review the challenges confronting them.

The herders led by the state chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, Alhaji Sahabi Mahmud, pleaded with the Emir to accept their pledge, undertaking that all the criminal elements amongst them would be identified and flushed out within five months in order to bring the desired peace to the state.

Miyetti Allah Chairman read out the pledge which was contained in a communique issued after a stakeholders’ meeting that lasted for several hours.

The meeting was attended by the herders and their Ardos and Jauros across the state as well as the Security Adviser to Gov. Darius Ishaku, Col. Angyo Agbu (retd).

According to the communique, the herdsmen and their leaders have agreed to weed out the criminals among them within the next five months and report back to the Emir on the successes and challenges they might record within the period.

The herders maintained that the task of carrying out the assignment was huge but absolutely necessary in order to sanitise the Fulani herdsmen and restore their damaged image caused by the criminal activities of a few of them.

In his response, the Emir of Muri, Alhaji Abbas Tafida, said the marching orders he gave during recent Eid-el-Kabir celebrations was targeted at criminal elements among the herdsmen.

Tafida said it became necessary for him to issue such orders in view of the increasing rate of kidnapping being committed by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

He said as a leader who stood firmly on the side of the truth and honesty, he would never allow injustice among his subjects. He lamented that the image of the Fulani as a race was endangered by the criminal activities of a few among them whom he alleged were involved in kidnapping and other criminals activities.

In a related development, Governor Darius Ishaku has warned traditional rulers in the state not to accommodate criminals in their communities or risk sanctions.

Ishaku gave the warning on Monday in Jalingo during a sensitisation workshop for second class and third class traditional rulers in the state.

The governor urged traditional rulers to evolve ways of detecting suspicious movements and characters within their communities.

“Do not give refuge to any fleeing criminal; doing so will be at your own peril, support government’s efforts to tackle criminality. Strengthen your synergy with the law enforcement agencies, such synergy is needed for effective crime-fighting,” he said.