International Group Sends Strong Warning To South-East Governors Over Giving Land To Herdsmen
The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has warned the South East Governors especially, the governors of Enugu, Abia, Anambra and Imo states that the land in the region was too small to give away to the herders in the name of ranching or settlements.
Reminding them that South-East landmass measures 29,525km, which is less than one or two States’ landmass in the northern Nigeria, the organisation advised the governors, particularly Governor Peter Mba of Enugu State to back off from any form of moves, under whatever disguises or camouflages, and join in rejecting the establishment of herders’ settlements in any part of the region.
“These moves must be done away with in the entire South-East or be lawfully and popularly resisted,” Intersociety warned in a report issued in Enugu on Wednesday.
Signed by the Principal officers led by Emeka Umeagbalasi, the group said it had observed that between December 2023 and February 2024 that despite denials and reasons given by the governors to justify the widely suspected politically motivated moves to establish the so called “non native trailer parks” or “agro-industrial farms” or “mechanized farm settlements” or “ modern cow ranching”, among others; most social clusters have remained saturated with strong suspicions that the governors are being economical with the truth.
“While such moves have clandestinely been intensified at sub-state government level in Anambra State since 2022 through the Ministry of Homeland Security and its Commissioner; in Enugu and Abia States, they are believed to have reared their ugly heads since Dec. 2023 after the electoral apex court judgments in the 2023 governorship polls in the two States.
“These moves are made more suspicious going by the fact that these governors and their Governments particularly those of Enugu and Anambra hardly speak out publicly in strong condemnation of jihadist Fulani herdsmen violence in their respective States including abductions and killings in captivity, sexual violence, open killings, property robberies and seizure and wanton destruction of farmlands and crops.”
Intersociety, however, noted that the current food insecurity in Nigeria including shortages and price hikes had been traced to what it described as “Islamic-Fulanisation” and “terrorisation” of the country’s food baskets of “Ondo, Ogun and Oyo in South-West; Delta and Edo in South-South; Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kogi and Niger in North-Central; Southern Kaduna and Southern Kebbi in North-West; and Taraba, Southern Borno and Northern Adamawa in North-East per Boko Haram and jihadist Fulani herdsmen”.
It noted that the moves by the Southeast Governors and their Governments and reasons given have also become more suspicious following disclosures by the Governments of Enugu and Abia of the involvement of the Federal Government in that regard. “While the Government of Enugu State said “it is planning to build a military base in Nimbo in Uzo Uwani and Isi-Uzo to protect its planned cow ranching and the people of the area,” the Government of Abia State said “it is collaborating with the Federal Government to build a (non-native) trailer park at Aro-Ngwa”.
“The two explanations are utterly suspicious because going by the provisions of Nigeria’s existing 1999 Constitution, it is outside the Legislative Mandate of any State to build a military base or get a Federal Government approval or collaboration before building a trailer park on Concurrent Legislative List-controlled land spaces located off a Trunk A (federal) Road. Promising to “build a military base” is also sobriquet: “Fulanization” of the so called “modern cow ranching”, following brazen partisanship and deep distrust of the military by many citizens across the country since July 2015.”
The group said that there are doubts and fears by members of the public including cross sections of communal stakeholders following the partisan and segregated ways and manners in which the Federal Government of Nigeria handled its rural agricultural policies and programmes since 2016 during which the then Government under Gen. Muhammad Buhari (retd) not only promoted primitive Fulani Cattle grazing and its networks as a national policy but also have it militarized.
“The then Government was also widely accused of promoting and protecting non-state actor terrorism perpetrated by Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen. As a matter of fact, chief among them was “RUGA”; a Fulani word for “human settlement using rural grazing routes”. Other “Fulanized” federal agric policies and programmes included “Waterway Control”, “National Livestock Transformation Plan”, “Nigerian Military Ranching”, “National Cattle Ranching/Fulani Settlement programmes”, “FADAMA”, among others.
“Findings by Intersociety across the South-East since 2017 have identified the “presence of Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen till date” in many, if not most of the facilities used for the above named including key formations of the Nigerian Security Forces (NSFs).”
The group revealed that despite the public policy and programme blunders of the federal government, governors are being used to replicate same in their states as parts of probably agreement to get them awarded the governorship positions they occupied.
“Enugu State under Gov Peter Mba is worst hit over strong suspicions in the State Government’s communal land grab/drives for (Fulani) Ranching or Settlements. The State Government under Peter Mba has strongly and widely been accused of coercing some communities in the State with large acres of farm/bush/forest lands into ceding or surrendering large part of them for “mechanized farming or “cow ranching”; a move seen by many observers as a camouflage for “Jihadist Fulani settlements in the State”.
“Clear cases in point are Elugwu-Akwu-Achi in Oji River, Nimbo in Uzo Uwani and reported others in Awgu, Nike (Enugu-East), Isi-Uzo, etc. Strong suspicions abound that such acres of communal lands, if ceded or “donated”, may end up as “Jihadist Fulani settlements” likely to have been disguised as “Enugu State Government Cow Ranching/Mechanized Farming/Agro-Industrial Settlements”, etc.
“Some natives of the affected communities spoken to by Intersociety; also believed that the move by the State Government is politically motivated and likely linked to “tenure-office-protection-deal” (if true). Intersociety has followed the development in Enugu State since Dec 2023 and January 2024 prompting her to launch an investigation during which some leaders of the affected communities expressed fear of being witch-hunted by the Government of Enugu State if they publicly or informally reject the land cession request.”
It added, “It was further discovered that while some leaders of the Community were in a haste to grant the State Government request, others raised the issue of “Government Master Plan” for the project and demanded for it. They also rejected Government’s plan to “survey the land” and insisted on surveying it first. The Government of Enugu State was told to provide more information regarding “the Mechanized Farming” so as to convince them that the Land, if ceded, will not end up in the hands of herders, Federal Government and allied others (.i.e. the Miyatti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria-MACABAN and the Fulani Nationality Movement-FUNAM),” citing video of meetings between communities and the Government of Enugu State.
In Abia State, the group said that series of protests have erupted and bad bloods generated in Aro-Ngwa in Isiala Ngwa South Council Area over strong allegations that the State Government is clearing a large expanse of land for building a Fulani RUGA Settlement; forcing the State Government to respond that it is not “building Fulani RUGA Settlement but a trailer park”.
According to the State Commissioner for Lands and Housing, Chaka Chukwumerije, “the Abia State Government is not clearing the land at Aro-Ngwa for RUGA, but is collaborating with the Federal Government for the construction of a trailer park to decongest traffic around Osisioma Ngwa roundabout; Umuika junction and Owerrinta bridge areas as well as generate revenue for the State Government”.
Also in Anambra State, some communities particularly those under Awka North and Awka South LGAs and others under Oyi, Anambra East, Anambra West and Ayamelum LGAs are witnessing large influx of Fulani Herdsmen usually at night and under reported the watchful eyes of the drafted security forces and the leadership of the Anambra State Vigilante Service (AVG), the Intersociety claimed.
Providing statistical data, the group explained that the South-East – the five core Igbo States of Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo is presently occupy the least length and width of the Nigeria’s total landmass of 923,952km; to the extent that 78% of Nigeria’s landmass or 731,085km are located in the North as against only 192,867km located in the South including South-South with 84,587km, South-West with 79,755km and South-East with only 29,525km.
“The country’s largest regional landmass allocation is found in the North-East with 272, 595km2 including Borno’s 70, 898km2; followed by North-Central with 235,110km2 including Niger State with 76,363km2 (roughly three times more than the South-East Region’s total landmass). The third Region with largest allocation of landmass in Nigeria is North-West with 218,271km2 including Kaduna’s 46,053km2 which is one-and-a half more than that of the South-East’s 29,525km2.
“The above statistical breakdown has clearly shown that indiscriminate procurement or seizure of communal lands in Igbo Land is jihadism-driven using state instruments and Government protected Jihadist Herdsmen terror.”
Intersociety has investigated and found since Nov 2022 that while Oji River has recorded the highest number of Jihadist Herdsmen incursion or presence in recent times in Enugu State, the State presently has the largest Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen presence in the South-East involving at least 22 communities spread across more than nine LGAs including Awgu, Oji River, Nkanu East, Nkanu West, Udi, Uzo Uwani, Isi-Uzo, Enugu East and Ezeagu.
