Adamu Isa, the Sarkin Hausa of Edo, says there has been peace in Edo State.
The leader of the Arewa communities in Edo State has refuted a report circulating on social media that some herdsmen have been killed in the state.
The report about the alleged killing is contained in a video said to be in circulation on Twitter and Facebook.
Adamu Isa, the Sarkin Hausa of Edo, who spoke on Thursday in Benin City after a meeting with Governor Godwin Obaseki, said the report on social media was a lie.
“We discussed the issue of banditry, herders and farmers’ crisis and other security challenges and lies being posted on social media that some Arewa members were being killed in Edo.
“So, as far as I am concerned, as the Sarkin Hausa of Benin, who is the head of all the Arewa communities in Edo, I have not gotten facts about this story that is being spread on social media.
“As far as we are concerned, Edo is a peace-loving place,” Mr Isa said.
The Arewa leader said the herder-farmer clash was an “old issue” in the state. He promised to cooperate with Mr Obaseki’s administration to ensure the conflict was reduced to the barest level.
Mr Obaseki, in his remark, said some people were trying to play politics with security issues in Nigeria.
“From what I have seen, from what I have heard, I have gone round communities, what I could see is just a deliberate attempt by some misguided people to play politics with security in Nigeria.
“This is really unfortunate, I went round some communities a few days ago. Yes, there have been some unfortunate incidents and it’s not unusual at this time of the year, the dry season.
“A lot of herdsmen are looking for greener pasture and then stray into other people’s properties and farmlands. We have a system in Edo to check this, and we are just going to reactivate the system,” he said.
“Every local government area must have a committee to deal with herders and farmers crisis, this committee must have a minimum of three representatives from Arewa community, Fulani and other dominant community in the local government area.
“On the other side, you will have the representative of traditional institutions and the security agencies, who are supposed to intervene whenever there is a crisis in those areas,” the governor said.
Mr Obaseki disclosed that a command and control centre has been created to allow members of the Arewa community with useful information to volunteer such anonymously.
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