An appeal has gone to President Muhammadu Buhari,
the Inspector-General of Police (IG), Abubakar Adamu, and the Delta State
Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adeleke Adeleke, to use their good offices to
urgently stop the criminal activities of Fulani herdsmen and killing of
innocent Deltans in their farmlands.
The Executive Assistant (Communications) to the
Delta State governor, Dr. Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe, on Thursday made the call in a
statement condemning the alleged killings of about 12 people in Ethiope East
and Ukwuani Local Government Areas of the state recently.
He noted that the impunity of Fulani nomads in the
state could lead to a breach of peace, law and order in the state if the
relevant authorities, including the president and the police "fail to
order the direct combing of the affected communities, arrest and prosecute the
murderers who have caused pains, sorrow and agony to the deceased families."
The legal practitioner particularly chided the IG
and the state Police Commissioner "for folding their arms and doing
nothing about criminal activities of the herdsmen," saying the fact that
there had been "no arrest and prosecution" of the criminal herders
amounted to "obvious negligence of duty" on the part of the police
authorities.
Oghenesivbe, who likened the criminal activities of
the suspected Fulani herdsmen in the state to the mindless killings by Boko
Haram insurgents, said: "Herdsmen do not rape women, young girls and kill
people in farmlands; such criminal activities rest in the domain of terrorists
such as Boko Haram, who are parading themselves as Fulani herdsmen in Delta
State and across the country.
"The Chief Security Officer of the state, Governor
Ifeanyi Okowa, has limit as to his control of security operatives in the state
due to the exclusive constitutional right of the federal government in the
control of the police and other security agencies.
"As it is today, the state Commissioner of
Police takes instructions directly from the IG while the IG is answerable to the
president, which shows that the governor merely interacts with the commissioner
of police and other heads of security agencies on how to better secure the state;
assist security agencies financially, provide vehicles and equipment without
corresponding powers to absolutely control their official activities, actions
and inactions.
"It follows that as Chief Security Officer of
Delta State, Okowa cannot issue orders that may bind or direct the heads of
security agencies when it comes to complex and politically motivated criminal
activities of some blood thirsty Fulani herdsmen in some communities in the
state.
"Our people are running out of patient and it is
morally and constitutional expedient for the president, the IG and police
commissioner to confront these criminals parading themselves as Fulani herdsmen
before our people lose their cool and resort to self-help and jungle
justice."
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