Catholic bishops in Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province have backed governors of the South-West geo-political zone over the ongoing efforts to regulate the activities of Fulani herdsmen within the zone.
This was part of the resolutions contained in the communiqué of a meeting entitled, “The Fulani Herdsmen, Criminality and the Rule of Law”, held at the Jubilee Conference Centre, Ibadan, Oyo State and signed by the President, Archbishop of Ibadan, Most Reverend Gabriel Abegunrin and Secretary, Most Reverend John Oyejola and made available to Tribune Church News.
The meeting also resolved that the South-West governors must shun deceptive adulations and empty promises on issues that impact the security of life and property.
The communiqué reads in part: “We note that insincerity, selfish interests and lack of political will had in the past, caused needless destruction of life and property and inflicted untold pain and hardship on innocent citizens. However, our governors must shun deceptive adulations and empty promises on issues that impact the security of life and property. They must work with the security agencies to courageously implement the law in all cases and sanction those who blatantly and murderously flout it in their territories. No Nigerian or foreigner should be above the law in any part of the country.
“With current realities, it has become more necessary than ever to demand the review of Nigeria’s security architecture. Given the campaign promises of the present government and the cauldrons of insecurity erupting all over the country, it is unfortunate that the Federal Government has remained impervious to this call.
“As a consequence, we parade a Nigerian Army that has not been able to effectively check the atrocities of Boko Haram for over a decade. How does one deny the allegation that kidnapping and banditry are abetted by government when even state governments pay (ransom to) bandits and herdsmen as a means of placating them? How can we claim to have a Nigeria Police, when the body is no longer trusted to protect the same people it was set up to serve in many parts of the country?
“We, therefore, join all well-meaning Nigerians who have called on the authorities to allow alternative and lawful initiatives which are established for protecting life and property like the South Western Security Network (SWSN), codenamed Amotekun, to thrive. Such initiatives deserve to be supported and optimized as a complimentary security organisation for the benefit of the people in different parts of Nigeria,” it stated.
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