A/Ibom LG Chairman restrict movement of herdsmen in council area

The Chairman of Mkpat Enin local government area, Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Ekanem Brown, has restricted the movement of herdsmen and their cattle in the council area.

Speaking yesterday in Uyo to newsmen, Brown said he has directed security to be beefed up around the common boundaries of the council, saying the action became necessary following attacks on local farmers by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

He denied having prior knowledge of the attack, saying he had ordered the immediate prohibition of indiscriminate movement of herders and their animals within Mkpat Enin communities.

He stated that policing of the local government has been intensified after security meeting with security agencies so as to forestall further security infractions.

Brown disclosed that he had visited the family of the dead and the injured, and advised the youths against taking the laws into their own hands.

He assured them that security measures were already in place to check recurrence of such security breaches by the armed herdsmen in the area.

“I support the Rural Grazing Areas (RUGA). What I don’t like is the style and strategy of its implementation,” he stated.

Also speaking, Leader of the Ikpa Ibom Progressive Association (IPA), Dr. Anietie Essien, lamented the sudden invasion of the area by suspected herdsmen and called on the government to come to the aid of the victims.

He said the family of the deceased with no fewer than seven children has been under serious crisis since the death of their only benefactor.