The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, on Thursday, March 27, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, held an interactive meeting with the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore (Umbrella body for Fulani Herdsmen).
The meeting which comes as the first of a series of meetings already planned by the Force was part of deliberate and elaborate efforts by the Nigeria Police Force to bring to an end the lingering crisis between herdsmen and farmers in some parts of the country,
According to a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, the essence of the meeting was to find an alternative dispute resolution mechanism geared towards finding a lasting solution to the lingering crisis.
The IGP called on the leadership of Miyetti Allah and other relevant stakeholders to cooperate with the Police in this regards. The IGP further reiterated that in addition to the ongoing crisis management measures and the core law enforcement strategies already being implemented by the Force in the affected areas, there was need for the Police to meet with stakeholders and parties to the conflict so as to bring an end to the crisis.
On their part, the Miyetti Allah delegates assured the IGP of their readiness to cooperate with the Government and the Police in finding lasting solutions to the problem.
Consequently, a committee was constituted which has the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations as Chairman. Other members of the committee include: the President, the Secretary-General and three other members from Miyetti Allah, as well as the President and the executives of Farmers’ Associations and community leaders of the affected areas.
The IGP charged the committee to visit all the affected states to liaise with Police Commands and to consult with the Governors and stakeholders in the affected states with the view to entrenching peaceful co-existence.
Also in attendance at the meeting were the Deputy Inspectors-General of Police in charge of Training and Operations Departments respectively, Principal Staff Officer to the IGP and other Senior Police Officers.
