Catholic Bishops Task Govt On Herdsmen, Farmers’ Clashes

The Catholic Bishops of Ibadan Province have appealed to the three tiers of government to find lasting solutions to the frequent clashes between herdsmen and farmers for peaceful coexistence.
They said the government would by doing so be fulfilling   the yearnings of Nigerians  to continue  to  live and thrive as citizens of this country.
They made the appeal in a communique issued at the end of their first plenary meeting held in Ibadan and jointly  signed by  the President,  Archbishop Gabriel Abegunrin of Ibadan Archdiocese and Bishop John Oyejola  of Osogbo Diocese.
Our correspondent reports that the bishops that attended the meeting from January 15, 2018 to January 17, 2018 are from :Ibadan  Archdiocese, the dioceses of Oyo, Ekiti, Ondo, Osogbo and Ilorin  respectively.
They advised the Federal Government to consider improved ways that herders would  cater for their  cattle with minimum stress to other legitimate professions, as it is done elsewhere in the world.
“Surely, cattle-rearing is practised in other countries in Africa and the world.
“The continuous conflicts provoked by so-called Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria attained a tragic climax with the brutal slaughter of over 70 people recently buried in Benue State, “ they said.
They said that this unfortunate “siddon-look” attitude by those who should checkmate such tragedies involving cow-herders in parts of the country had made many Nigerians to question whether animal rights could indeed be placed above human lives.
“As we offer our deepest condolences to our bereaved compatriots in Benue State, we fervently pray for the repose of the souls of the dead and divine comfort for those left behind to mourn them.
“All hands must be on deck to put a stop to the bloody charade witnessed so frequently from encounters with Fulani herdsmen.
“Lack of preemptive action and delay in reacting to crises all over the country, on the part of government and the security agencies, must be rectified so that innocent lives may henceforth be protected”, they said.
The bishops, however, commended the Federal Government and the relevant security agencies for ensuring  the release of the three Rev. Sisters that were abducted in November last year in Edo.
“We are particularly grateful for the safe release, after 55 days in captivity,  of three aspirants and three Reverend Sisters of the Eucharistic Hearts of Jesus (EHJ) who were kidnapped in November 2017 from their convent in Benin, Edo .
“We thank all those who prayed and worked for a happy outcome to this unfortunate kidnapping, we pray for the quick and safe release of all who are in captivity in Nigeria and for the conversion of the perpetrators.
“We once again call on the Nigerian government and security agencies to do more to curtail the ugly incidences of kidnaping which has become a national embarrassment to Nigeria as a country and prosecute those who commit such crimes.