The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has decried the rate of insecurity in some parts of the country as a result of the attacks by some armed herdsmen on farmers.
The group noted that the criminal activities of the bandits against farmers raised the need for the creation of state police to enhance proper security at the grassroots level.
This was contained in a communique issued by the Secretary-General of the association, Chief Sola Ebiseni, and made available to our correspondent in Akure on Wednesday. The communique was issued at the meeting of the group at the residence of its leader, Pa Ayo Adebanjo in Ogbo Ijebu, Ogun State.
The communique partly reads, “Afenifere observed the alarming resurgence of insecurity occasioned by the activities of armed cattle herders terrorising farmers, killing, maiming the people and raping women for which some of the host communities are no longer comfortable living with the killer guests.
“While Afenifere appreciates the constitutional rights of every Nigerian to live in any part of the country of his/her choice, it is important to stretch and ensure that such citizens live in peace with their hosts and respect their culture and economic prosperity.
“Afenifere reiterates our opposition to open grazing of animals and reaffirms preference of ranching as the world’s best practice of animal husbandry. No matter is better than now to consider that state governments be allowed to play greater roles in the security of their states by establishing their internal policing mechanism”
On true federalism, the group called on the federal government to adopt the report of the 2014 Confab or the Nasir El-Rufai Committee on Federalism to restructure the country and change the 1999 constitution.
