The Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo committee has set up a sub-committee to interface with members of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria and other groups with a view to ending killings by herdsmen.

The committee was set up by National Economic Council to find lasting solutions to increasing cases of killings by herdsmen across the country.
The sub-committee is headed by the Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi.

Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, Mr Abdulaziz Yari, said this to State House correspondents on Thursday at the end of a meeting of the Osinbajo committee at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Yari, who is governor of Zamfara State, said governors of Plateau and Adamawa states were members of the dialogue committee headed by Mr Umahi.

He said some technocrats would be invited to join the sub-committee in visiting states affected by the attacks.

He said, “In our discussion today (Thursday), we set up a committee headed by governor of Ebonyi State, while Plateau and Adamawa governors are members.

“We are bringing some technocrats that will visit hot spots’ states like Benue, Taraba, Adamawa and Zamfara where there is crisis so that they can interface with the Miyetti Allah and other groups to see how we can reduce this to the barest minimum.

Yari explained why attacks by herdsmen could not end, saying criminals had turned them to money-making ventures.

“Why we cannot say we will put this matter to rest is because some people have taken it as a money-making venture.

“As a government, we have to take all the measures despite the fact that the army, police and other security agents are on the field at the affected places. But we still have to form this committee to interface with the actors so that this matter can be reduced to the barest minimum and possibly be wiped off,” he said.

Apart from Yari and Umahi, others who attended the meeting were Simon Lalong of Plateau State; Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna); Jibrilla Bindow (Adamawa); Deputy Governor of Benue State, Benson Abonu; that of Oyo State, Moses Adeyemo, as well as Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh; and his Interior counterpart, Abdulrahman Dambazau.

Punch