The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, has blamed those he described as frustrated ‘ethnic leaders’ for the recent eviction notices issued to Fulani herdsmen in Ondo and Oyo States.
Kayemo said although criminal elements exist amongst Fulani herders, some politicians were allegedly exploiting the herdsmen crisis in parts of the country for their own political gains.
“Whilst it’s true that there’re criminal issues regarding some herdsmen with which we must deal, most Nigerians don’t know that their so-called ethnic ‘leaders’ are deliberately putting an ethnic spin to these issues in order vent their personal political frustration on the system,” Keyamo said in a tweet on Monday.
Advertisement
The minister’s statement came on the heels of the attack on a Fulani community in Igangan town, Ibarapa LGA, Oyo State, after the expiration of a 7-day ultimatum issued to the herders to leave the town.
Residents of Igangan had accused the herdsmen of being behind cases of kidnappings and other grave crimes in the community.
At a town hall meeting on Sunday, the residents were said to have presented evidence to show that the herders were behind the murder of some of their kinsmen as well as the collection of up to N50 million in ransoms.