Abubakar Malami, SAN, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to create an agency that will regulate the activities of herdsmen.
Malami made the recommendation in Abuja on Tuesday while speaking as a special guest of honour during the Peace, Unity, and Security Lecture Series at the ECOWAS main auditorium.
According to Malami, the crisis between the herders and farmers must be tackled squarely as it was becoming a pressing issue.
“Nigeria is predominately agricultural in nature and by geography. To that extent, there is constant mobility of herders across the different belts of Nigeria. It is perhaps time to consider the setting-up of a commission for pastoralism regulated by law,” the Minister said.
“This might provide recipes for resolving protracted farmer-herder conflicts. The commission may even engage in or facilitate in-depth analytical studies with a view to providing lasting solutions for the benefit of people and the country,” he explained further.
He said the Buhari government is committed to supporting initiatives and programmes that would help resolve the lingering crises between farmers and herdsmen in the country.
Malami pointed out that the better approach towards putting an end to the crisis over the short, medium and long terms is to allow the stakeholders to play a part in coming up with solutions at the conception, implementation and monitoring faces.
Malami also recommended the creation of regulated grazing reserves to replace the “Burtali” or “Hurumi” pastoral system.
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, had during the week called on President Buhari to either suspend or query the Minister over his alleged refusal to prosecute arrested criminal Fulani herdsmen across the country.
The call came after the presidency asked the Nigeria Police Force to publish the list of herders undergoing trials across the country.
