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THE ALTERNATIVE With Reno Omokri
Last week, a video surfaced in which a repentant herdsman, of Fulani origin, alleged that he and other bandits were given AK-47s by the present administration, so that they could kill Nigerian citizens.
The man swore to this, and said his years of training as an almajiri led him to reject the bandit lifestyle, hence his admission.
Almost a week since that video went viral, the Buhari administration, which is usually very quick to respond to anything involving people of Fulani ethnicity, has remained loudly silent.
Is there silence consent? Is it an admission of guilt? Are these bandits, who are now killing Nigerians in every state of the federation, people who were surreptitiously brought to Nigeria in the run-up to the 2015 Presidential elections, and primed to soak innocent âdogs and baboons in bloodâ in the event that Buhari did not win that election?
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Published 2 March 2021
Chief Olufemi Awani is a community leader and President, Ifon Development Union in Ondo State. In this interview with
PETER DADA
, the retired permanent secretary speaks about the recent killing of the town’s monarch by bandits and the invitation of some leaders of the community by Force Headquarters over the alleged killing of cows in the area, among others
Ifon people have been cohabiting with other ethnic groups, particularly the Fulani, for a very long time. So, why has everything gone awry?
The issue is not that per se, but there was a complaint in January. One Fulani man known as Abdullahi went to the police station to say his cows were killed in the bush and he accused some of our community leaders and the chief hunter of being responsible for the killing of the cows. But the people denied the allegation. Even where he claimed that the cows were killed is not on Ifon land and we told him specifically to point at anyo
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Peter Dada, Akure
The people of Ifon in the Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State have decried the high rate of criminality by those masquerading as herdsmen in the community.
The activities of bandits in the area resulted in the killing of the monarch of the community, Oba Israel Adeusi, last year.
Speaking with journalists on Thursday, the President, Ifon Development Union, Chief Olufemi Awani, appealed to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd); the Inspector-General of Police and the state Commissioner of Police to intervene in the matter, adding that the town was under siege from herdsmen, who seemed to be taking advantage of the monarch death.