OPC plans to protect farmers against herdsmen

A Yoruba socio-cultural group, Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), has said that it would no longer condone attacks by the Fulani herdsmen on farmers in any part of Yoruba land.

Speaking with the Tribune Online in Ilorin at the weekend, a member of the National Coordinating Council of the OPC, Bayo Ifabiyi, said it was worrisome that the attack persisted to disturb peace in the area.

The OPC boss, who commended recent directive by President Muhammadu Buhari aimed at stopping wanton killing in the country, urged the president to be commited to that stand.

Ifabiyi, who doubles as the leader of OPC in Kwara State, asked the cattle rearer association in the state, Maiyeti Allah, to stop issuing threats over reprisal attack on the reported killing allegedly carried out against herdsmen who had also allegedly killed a farmer in the northern part of the state.

Speaking on the clash between Yoruba and the Hausa people in Ile-Ife, the OPC leader called on the federal government to ensure that justice was done in handling the matter by the police.

He said that police was not being fair in its handling of the crisis when it allegedly arrested and paraded suspects who are Yoruba only.

Ifabiyi argued that since a Hausa person allegedly started the crisis and since both sides recorded casualties and loss of property it was expected of the police not to limit arrest to a side in its investigation of the matter.

The OPC boss, who expressed doubt that if the crisis had happened on any of Hausa/Fulani town in the north the police would arrest only Hausa/Fulani suspects and leave the Yoruba ones untouched said the Ile-Ife crisis, should not be handled discriminatorily.

He however, appealed to residents of the  ancient  town not to allow any occurrence of any act that could disrupt peace of the town any longer saying they should promptly report sign of such act to prevent  the crisis it could engender.