ECOWAS permits non-Nigerian herdsmen in the country – FG

– The federal government says it cannot stop non Nigerian citizens from grazing in the country despite the fact that it has been established that many herdsmen who are involved in clashes in Nigerian villages are not Nigerians – The minister of agriculture and rural development, Audu Ogbeh says the ECOWAS Transhumance Protocol allows for herdsmen who are not citizens of Nigeria to move across borders in search of pasture upon fulfilling the conditions laid down in the protocol – Ogbeh says the establishment of grazing reserves and stock routes’ development and utilisation would help mitigate the conflict between the herdsmen and farmers in Nigeria Share on Facebook Share on Twitter The minister of agriculture and rural development, Audu Ogbeh says the ECOWAS Transhumance Protocol allows for herders who are not citizens of Nigeria to graze in the country. The minister of agriculture and rural development, Audu Ogbeh says the ECOWAS Transhumance Protocol allows for herdsmen who are not citizens of Nigeria to graze in the country. The federal government has said it cannot stop non-citizens of Nigeria from grazing their cattle across the country due to the ECOWAS Transhumance Protocol which has given the right of free movement to citizens of member countries. The government stated that despite the fact that it had been established that many herdsmen who were involved in clashes in Nigerian villages were not Nigerians, it said the ECOWAS Transhumance Protocol the law is similar to the fundamental right to freedom of movement in the Nigerian constitution, the Punch reports. The minister of agriculture and rural development, Audu Ogbeh, disclosed this at the stakeholders’ consultative forum on grazing reserves and stock routes in Abuja on Thursday, June 9. He said:“The Nigerian constitution has given every citizen the fundamental right to freedom of movement in search of legitimate businesses; transhumance pastoralism is seen along these lines. “For pastoralists from neighbouring West African countries, access to grazing rights in other countries in the ECOWAS zone including Nigeria, are guaranteed by the ECOWAS Transhumance Protocol of 1998 and ECOWAS Protocol of Free Movement of Goods and Persons in West Africa.” Ogbeh said the ECOWAS Transhumance Protocol allows for herders who are not citizens of Nigeria to move across borders in search of pasture upon fulfilling the conditions laid down in the Protocol. “So it is not strange to see a Malian, Burkinabe or Nigerien pastoralist grazing his cows, sheep or goats in Nigeria or a Nigerian pastoralist grazing his livestock in Benin, Togo or Ghana and by extension, transhumance pastoralists from other neighbouring countries,” he added. The minister however, regretted that the movement of animals within and across agro-ecological zones had resulted conflicts between crop farmers and herdsmen across the country. Ogbeh said the establishment of grazing reserves and stock routes’ development and utilisation had which has been stepped up in recent years would help mitigate the conflict between the herdsmen and farmers. Meanwhile, Nimbo community in Enugu state has become a ghost town following the return of Fulani herdsmen. Igwe John Ikemefuna Akoh, the traditional ruler of the community, raised the alarm and called on the government to declare a state of emergency. The Sun reports that Akoh made this shocking revelation to Nsukka General Assembly when the group paid him a visit before making a donation of over N1.4 million to the victims of the April 25 massacre in the community.