State chapters of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, an umbrella body for herdsmen in the country, have expressed their readiness to attend the public hearing on the Amotekun bill slated for February 24 across all the states in the South-West.
They said it would be an avenue to make their positions known on the issue.
The association had expressed its reservations over the setting up of the Western Nigeria Security Network, codenamed Operation Amotekun, claiming that the initiative was aimed at flushing out the Fulani tribe from the South-West.
But the South-West Governors’ Forum had in its reaction dismissed the claim as misplaced and unnecessary.
In the South-West and some other regions, there had been clashes between herders and farmers, while some herders had also been accused of killing and kidnapping innocent villagers.
In their response to the rising killings and kidnappings by criminals and some persons alleged to be herders, the governors of the six states in the region had launched Operation Amotekun on January 9, 2020, to provide security for the people in the region.
The Attorneys-General of the six states in the South-West had approved a draft bill for the establishment of Amotekun, noting that each state would enact its own law and establish its own operatives to be known as Amotekun Corps.
After passing first and second readings in most of the states’ Houses of Assembly, the public hearing is scheduled to hold on Monday.
In an interview with one of our correspondents on February 21, the Chairman of Miyetti Allah in Ogun State, AbdulMumin Ibrahim, said he would be at the public hearing to share his thoughts on the bill.
He, however, suggested that the membership of Amotekun corps should not be for Yorubas alone, adding that since the initiative would address the farmers-herders clashes, their members should be considered.
In his word, he revealed that;
We don’t want it to be run like Oodua People’s Congress where only a tribe is in charge. When we wanted to join OPC, we were told that it was meant for only one tribe. If it is in the interest of peace, all the tribes must be involved. We will appreciate if our members are incorporated into Amotekun as corps.
Other state chapters of Miyetti Allah in the country has said some of its members and chairman will attend the public hearing.
