The federal government has called for the support of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in providing lasting solutions to the farmers and herdsmen crisis in the country. The Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, disclosed this after a meeting with the President of the ECOWAS commission, Marcel De Souza, at the ECOWAS secretariat Abuja.
This is one of the efforts being employed by federal government in tackling herdsmen crisis and to ensure that justice was meted out on the perpetrators. Dambazau after the meeting told newsmen that the discussion was bordered on regional security as herder/farmers clashes alongside terrorists attacks became worrisome
He called for a ministerial conference of ECOWAS member states in order to come up with a framework that will address the trans-border crimes, which he said had contributed to the conflict.
“Clashes between cattle herders and farmers are tending to be more prevalent in Nigeria, owing to its size and population. We think that we and ECOWAS should come together to look at the wider dimension. We require stability in the region, hence, this high-level conference is being proposed to examine, among others, the ecological dimension such as desertification and draught,” the ECOWAS Commission said in a statement, quoting Dambazau, on Tuesday.
The ECOWAS Commission in view of crisis announced a high-level inter-ministerial conference will be held in February 2018, where the 16 member states will be in attendance to proffer solutions to the problems.
The president, ECOWAS commission Marcel de Souza said there was need to implement the 1978 protocol, which he said, would help resolve the crisis.