The Inspector General of
Police, Ibrahim Idris, has said that the only genuine solution to
herdsmen/farmers crisis in some parts of the country is through dialogue.
IGP Idris said this at
the public launch of his book titled: ‘Security and Justice: The pathway for
peace and reconciliation in Nigeria’, in Lagos while appealing to Nigerians to
shun inciting statements and stop playing politics with crisis.
Idris disclosed that he
was personally in Benue State to discuss reconciliation moves with the parties
involved, adding that the responses had, so far, been encouraging.
The IGP said: “The
challenges we are having with these herdsmen have gone down. In Benue, we have
15 Police units on ground and I have been monitoring their successes. I was in
Benue and we have been having stakeholders’ meetings, we have been discussing.
“Based on this, people
have been coming openly to state their problems and it is through these means
that we can understand each other and reconcile our differences.
“The role of traditional
rulers in this reconciliation process cannot be over emphasised because most of
them have the ears of their people. When you have political disagreement in
these communities, these traditional rulers are handy.”
He explained that the
reason for writing the book was in recognition of the Nigeria Police as the
nation’s core law enforcement agency which is constitutionally saddled with the
responsibility of preventing and detecting crime, apprehension and prosecution
of offenders, preservation of law and order.
“I have watched with
troubled heart the security challenges confronting this country. The challenges
of Boko Haram in the North East, the challenges of kidnappings and armed
robberies, cattle rustling and militancy in virtually all parts of Nigeria.
“The farmers/herders
clashes, the challenges of assassination for various reasons, the challenges of
conflicts among the divergent communities which often times take dangerous
dimensions and occur along the fault lines of ethnic, religious, regional and
political differences between the divergent groups and communities.
“These challenges if not
properly managed at the pace we are going, coupled with inflammatory and
inciting statements, will tear this country apart and drag us into an unending
crisis
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