Juliana Francis
The Delta State Commissioner of Police, Ari Muhammed Ali, worried about the crisis between herders and farmers, recently had a brainstorming meeting with his lieutenants in the state.
Ali held the meeting on 24th June, in the company of the Assistant Commissioner of Police Operations (ACP) Sa’ad Ibrahim and the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Obiaruku Divisions.
Others in the meeting were stakeholders in Obiaruku and the discussion centered around the recent crisis between the Indigenes of the community and the Hausa community.
The CP in his remarks expressed his sadness over the development of the farmers-herders crisis particularly as it sometimes climaxed to the extent of kidnapping farmers and others alike.
The CP stated that no society thrives during insecurity, and Obiaruku as a community depends largely on farming without which, a shortage of food that will, in turn, lead to famine and starvation, was a certainty spiraling to unemployment.
Ali opined that the perpetrators of the catastrophe cannot engage in these acts without the support of some indigenes, as investigations in the past revealed that members of the community were working in cohort with these hoodlums for their selfish interest.
The CP advised all stakeholders, including the Hausa community, herders, and farmers, to come together and fish out those causing problem for the entire community.
He advised the Hausa community to look inward and identify the moles among them, urging members of the community to unite in this fight.
Ali, while empathizing with them, gave an assurance that the farmers/herder’s crisis will come to halt in Obiaruku, because security of life and properties in the State was his number one priority, and as such, he will not allow any disgruntled element to constitute a security threat in the community.
The number one policeman in the state also assured the traditional rulers, the LGA chairman, farmers, women, and the youths that he has ordered massive deployment to Obiaruku, imploring the community to partner with the teams deployed to fight these criminals, arrest and ensure that they were made to face the full wrath of the law.
