Group Condemns Lawmaker, Lauds Okowa’s Stance on Herdsmen

The Voice of Freedom Network, a pressure group in Delta State, has condemned a member of the House of Representatives, Aishatu Dukku, who allegedly claimed that Fulani herdsmen were created to value the lives of their cattle more than human life, describing the lawmaker’s position as “an insult to the human race”.

Addressing newsmen, yesterday in Asaba, the group through its spokesman, Comrade Victor Adaka, asserted that “cattle rearing is a private business like countless other forms of economic activities and as such, cannot justifiably deserve preferential treatment.”

The group further condemned the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria on its position that it was the anti-open grazing prohibition and ranches establishment law promulgated by Benue State that led to the attack on the state.

It said: “Similarly condemnable is the abhorrent position of the Fulani Cultural Association led by one Prof. Usman that the Benue Valley belongs to the Fulani with the implication that, that’s why they attacked the people of the state to reclaim it.”

While insisting that open grazing “is no longer a viable method of animal husbandry in this day and age,” the group praised Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa for “foreclosing the idea of cattle colonies in Delta in tandem with the wishes of the people of the state.