Gov. Sule Lamido of Jigawa Signing into Law the 2014 budget in Dutse last Wednesday. With him is the Commisioner for Finance, Alhaji Umar Roni.

There are indications of tension and likely conflict between Hausa/Fulani herdsmen and some villages of Ikwerrengwor in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State over alleged destruction of their crops and farmlands.
Women in Ozuguru said farms crops worth over N60million in Ama camp in Ozuguru, Umuoke and Umuopiro villages of Ikwerrengwor have been lost to the herdsmen.
The Tide gathered that attempts by the victims to call the cattle grazers to order had been unsuccessful as the herdsmen, instead of retracing their steps, had threaten to unleash mayhem in Ikwerrengwor community.
Speaking to The Tide, the community lawyer based in Port Harcourt, Cyril Nwamarah, disclosed that the community had written a petition to the Rivers State Commissioner of Police over the activities of the herdsmen, stating that the farmers and their community had been under  a serious economic and physical siege by the herdsmen.
The petition, dated August, 2013, and titled “Threat to the lives of the people of Ikwerrengwor community and the destruction of their agricultural crops by Hausa/Fulani cattle rearers”, stated that the cattle grazers and their herds of cattle were noticed one afternoon destroying the victims’ farms as they grazed recklessly.
The petition, which was copied to the Oche of Etche, Eze E.M.B. Opurum, Ochimba of Ikwerrengwor, Chief Felix Onyeche and the Chairman of Iriebe Cattle Market Association, said when the farmers requested the herdsmen to desist from grazing their cattle on their farms, they refused and returned the following day with a threat to kill those attempting to stop them from grazing.
‘They specifically told our client that they will employ and apply the Boko Haram warfare strategy against them with killings and burning of houses as it is being done in Plateau and Benue State and other parts of the northern Nigeria,” the petition said.
It further disclosed that the herdsmen had adopted a new strategy of coming at about 1.00am when people were asleep and letting loose their herds of cattle to recklessly graze and destroy the farms.
The petitioners lamented that the activities of the herdsmen were becoming unbearable, and was threatening the existence of the victims who were daily losing their cassava, yams, maize; vegetable and other farm produce to the activities of the cattle grazers.
Barr Nwamarah told The Tide that crops valued at over N60million had been damaged so far, and appealed to the commissioner of police to intervene.
Attempts to get the reaction of the chairman of Iriebe Cattle Market Association could not yield result as  he was always said to have gone out.
Further efforts to get the reaction of the police public relation officers of the Rivers State Police Command were also unsuccessful.

Chris Oluoh