Gov. Umar Namadi of Jigawa has appealed to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), to deploy more personnel to end herders, farmers clashes in the state.
This is contained in a statement by the NSCDC Spokesperson, Commandant Olusola Odumosu on Thursday in Abuja.
He said that Namadi appeal during a visit to the NSCDC Commandant-General (CG) Mr Ahmed Audi.
He said that the attacks on farmers by herders in the state over the years, had affected farming.
Namadi called on the corps to provide security for farmers in the affected areas in the state, to restore the confidence of citizens, particularly farmers.
“I want to passionately appeal to you to give us a squad or a team of your Agro Rangers who are well trained and specialised in dealing with the issue at hand.
“If we have that opportunity, it will bring a lasting peace to the affected areas and our people would be able to return to their farms, ”he said.
He said that the state contributed a lot to the food security of the nation, and the affected areas were major producers of food to the state and Nigeria at large.
The governor commended the corps and commandant general for its pivotal roles in the maintenance of internal security in the nation.
“Within just two years, you have transformed the agency through your hardwork and repositioned it for better performance,” he said.
Responding, Audi promised to deploy well-trained Agro Rangers personnel to the state, to find lasting solutions to the problem.
“By our Act, NSCDC is mandated to protect and provide security for government’s critical national assets and infrastructure.
“We have over 10,000 staff in the Agro Rangers department that are well trained to provide security and safety for farmers and other agro allied products and investments in the nation.
“We have been getting intelligence reports on how bandits and kidnappers scare farmers, and since we have some reserve personnel for this kind of request, we will provide the service that you need,” he assured.
Audi assured that the corps will work tirelessly to put an end to the security challenges facing the agricultural sector in the country.
“The Agro-Rangers concentrate on states that are major producers of food for this nation and Jigawa is one of the states that give food security to this country.
“More efforts will be channeled towards peace building through the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR),” he said.
He also said that the corps in the last two years amicably resolved over 100 farmer/ herder clashes.(NAN)
