Herdsmen: Police, Afenifere back Soyinka on use of hunters

Femi Makinde and Peter Dada

Yoruba socio political organisation, Afenifere, has thrown its weight behind Prof. Wole Soyinka’s call for the use of hunters and vigilante groups to tackle the menace of herdsmen in Ogun State, in collaboration with the other security outfits.

The Secretary-General of Afenifere, Chief Sehinde Arogbofa, on Saturday, said all states in the South-West should embrace the idea.

He said the use of hunters and vigilante groups became imperative in view of the fact that the government had failed to protect the people.

He said, “Although the formation of groups for the purpose of policing may not be good enough, our government has failed to provide adequate security and the people have to defend themselves against the killer herdsmen.

“There is nothing wrong in what the local hunters and vigilante groups are doing in Ogun State. Afenifere welcomes the formation of such groups here in Ondo and other South-West states because our people have to protect themselves.”

The Ondo State Police Command has also described the idea as a welcome development.

The spokesperson for the police in the state, Mr. Femi Joseph, said, “If we can have this type of collaboration in Ondo State, it will be a good development.

“We need organised groups who can assist us. We cannot be everywhere at the same time, so we need people to work with us.”

The Commissioner for Information in Osun State, Mr. Adelani Baderinwa, however, said the state did not need to mobilise hunters and vigilante groups to secure its people and farms from the destructive activities of the herdsmen.

The commissioner said  Governor Rauf Aregbesola had set up a committee comprising Yoruba and the Fulani elders about two years ago to ensure that the herdsmen did not destroy farms in the state.

Baderinwa said, “We do not need to gather hunters and vigilante groups to protect the state from herdsmen. We are proactive in Osun State and that is why there is no crisis here.”

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