A six-man committee was inaugurated on Tuesday by the Federal Government to look into the “extent of foreign involvement” in the herdsmen/farmers’ crises which has been on the rise.
The committee was set up by the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, the Punch reports.
Dan-Ali, who admitted that there had been so many reports to the government on the herdsmen crisis, said the submissions of the technical committee, headed by Umar Ibrahim, a Brigader-General, who is the Coordinator of the Peace Support Operations, would proffer solutions to end the killings across the country.
Dan Ali said, “The crisis has assumed a very disturbing proportion where innocent lives, as well as properties, are being lost almost on a daily basis. The Ministry of Defence is very disturbed. Hence, we deemed it necessary to convene a committee to dispassionately investigate the crisis and give us some fundamental issues surrounding the crisis.
“This is in order to advise the leadership of our country on the appropriate steps to take to bring the senseless killings to an end. The members of the committee are to determine the remote and immediate causes of the crisis, determine the triggers as they occur across the country.
“The committee is also to determine the extent of foreign involvement if any, as well as determine the extent of any economic, political and ethnic linkages to the crisis. It is true that there are so many reports and submissions about these attacks and killings. What we are doing with this committee is to get these various submissions articulated.
“It will enable us to come up with a durable document and to be able to advise the leadership of our nation on the appropriate steps to take to bring the senseless killings to an end.”
The minister said the committee had three weeks to investigate the herdsmen menace and submit its report to the government.
He also said the membership of the committee was still open to people whose contributions would help to achieve its purpose, noting that the selection was based on “our belief in your integrity, capacity, and experience of the issues at stake.”
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