It is Unlawful to Send the Fulani Herdsmen Out of Delta - Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa

 

Amidst the call from all quarters to send the killer Fulani herdsmen packing from the southern states, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has said that it is unconstitutional to send the herdsmen packing from the state, saying every Nigeria has right to live in any part of the country.

This is even as community members who participated in a town hall meeting in the state government house unanimously called for the evacuation of the herdsmen from every part of the state.

In the town hall meeting where representatives of the Fulani herdsmen, security officers, comprising the state commissioner of police, Alkali Baba Usman, air force, the Nigerian navy and the army, Okowa said it was against the constitution of Nigeria to send the Fulani herdsmen out of the state.

He said since it is unconstitutional, he cannot make unconstitutional pronouncement against Fulani herdsmen, an action which he said could throw the state into a war zone.

Though he concurred that criminal elements and kidnappers are among the Fulani herdsmen, he, however, said he cannot send them from the state.

Prior to his verdict, representatives of the communities including local government chairmen, community leaders, youth bodies, vigilante groups, religious organisations had urged the governor to send the herdsmen from the state, insisting that the Fulani herdsmen have wroth havoc in the local communities in the state.
 

They gave lurid details of the hazards being perpetuated by the Fulani herdsmen which include raping women, manslaughter among other obnoxious acts in the rural communities.