Governor of Taraba State, Arch. Darius Ishaku, has attributed killings by Fulani herdsmen in his state and some other parts of the country to a “drive for territorial control”.

A report this morning by The Nation quoted the Governor as blaming the elite for masterminding the violence for their political and economic interests. He urged Nigerians to pray for the country, the paper quoted Ishaku as saying via telephone on Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, on Wednesday, met with hunters from across the state and charged them to be on red alert and rise against the invasion of herdsmen in any part of the state.

Fayose, who spoke against the backdrop of what he described as threats by herdsmen to attack the state, said while the hunters must not take laws into their hands, they must also not allow themselves to be taken unawares by the herdsmen he said had already found their ways into forest reserves in the state.

Fayose also said it was time President Muhammadu Buhari declared the killer herdsmen as terrorists following their massacre of women and children as well as the destruction of farmlands in Benue, Taraba and other parts the country.

The governor also raised the alarm, claiming that some people he referred to as “Bororos” were already owing by night into forest reserves in parts of the state, saying the hunters must act fast to secure their various communities.

He said: “I have received letters that the Bororos have entered our reserves and that they want to violate our laws. I want to call on the attention of the Federal Government that they have come and wanted to kill men and kids and women in Ekiti.

“We cannot be crying after they might have attacked our people. God forbid. So, we must act fast by securing our state. Nobody knows the territory more than you the hunters, that is why I have invited you here to tell you that you must act fast to secure our state.

“Don’t let them take you by surprise. Don’t allow them to take Ekiti by storm. Go to the farms and keep vigil. Don’t just l entertain visitors that come in the night, screen them. We don’t want visitors in our reserves after 8:00 pm.

“Don’t take laws into your hands but defend our people. Protect our people. Check all arrivals at night coming in the guise of herdsmen.”

I am making a telephone line available that would serve as helplines, where you can send your distress calls. I trust you that you can secure our people.

“I also learnt that they want to come and be arresting people for no reasons. They want to set the EFCC after some government officials because of my stance against President Buhari. They would meet God’s hand in it. My hunters, you know Ekiti very well. Protect the state. We will be having monthly meetings.”

He promised to secure and pay for offices for the hunters in the headquarters of the six local government areas of the state, saying this would hold them in coordinating their activities and report incidences fast.

Fayose, who also addressed indigenes of Benue State, appealed to them to pray for their governor, Samuel Ortom.

He told the people that the killer herdsmen were to move into the remote communities of Ekiti State allegedly with the aim to kill and maim people and thereby rubbish the state’s anti-grazing law.

He promised his support for the hunters in the discharge of their duties and urged President Buhari to declare herdsmen terrorists.

Fayose said: “Mr. President, declare herdsmen as a terrorist group now. They are mindless and devilish. I saw pictures of the killings and I wondered if those were human beings. I asked the questions if people could be that picked to kill human beings that way. They will find no peace. It is no tribal killings but that of mindless people. I sympathise with our brothers, sisters, and people from Benue State that are mourning the brutality of those who killed their kinsmen.”

He said “we have never had it so bad. People must come to leadership with a conscience. The Federal Government should have sent the army to Benue, not the police.

He encouraged Governor Ortom to “fasten his belt and protect his people. Those seeking help in Abuja would not find because Abuja also needs help. I sympathise with you, my people from Benue State; this is your home and nobody would kill you. You are all saved here.”

•Additional reports by Nigerian Tribune.

Update news