President Muhammadu Buhari has asserted that the Fulani herdsmen who have been killing and maiming citizens in different parts of the country are militants trained and dispatched from Libya.
Buhari made this known on Friday, May 13, 2016 in United Kingdom where he currently is for an Anti-corruption Summit.
According to him, the late leader of Libya, Ghadaffi trained some mercenaries from the Sahel militarily who were later dispatched to different countries after the overthrow of his 43-year-regime.
He said: “When his regime was overthrown, those people were dispatched to their countries. They found themselves in the Boko Haram and others.
“It is a major regional and virtually African problem now. There is one called Al Qaeda, there is Boko Haram and so on. It is a governmental project now to trace them, disarm them, try them and discipline them.
“Herdsmen culturally do not stay in one place; they move with the season. Normally, harvest is complete much earlier in the North. They have to go southwards for greener pasture.
“Initially, there was what they call cattle routes and grazing areas. They were marked. Infrastructures were put in terms of dams and veterinary clinics.
“Later, the big ogas that came, took over these places and turned them to farms. If we have like 500 cattle, if they do not eat for 24 hours or they want water, you can’t stop them.
“But what they used to do then, if anybody goes outside, he would be arrested, taken before a court and he is fined. If he can pay, the money is taken and given to the farmer. If he can’t pay, the cattle is sold and the farmer is paid. So, people are behaving well.
“So, when people came and took away the land for the cattle route and grazing area, you find out that from Kaduna to Bayelsa, Nigerians are fighting cattle rearers now.
“When I was in PTF, we made a comprehensive study of cattle routes and grazing areas throughout Nigeria. So, I am referring the Governors’ Forum to it and the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. Let them see what they can do and save the situation.”
