The Governor of Jigawa State, Umar Namadi, has called onNigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to reinforce its personnel to curb the wanton killings of farmers and destruction of farm crops by herdsmen in the state.
Namadi, who paid a working visit to the Commandant General of NSCDC, Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi, on Thursday, said the ugly development has caused fear and concerns among the farmers.
He called for deployment of more squads of Agro Rangers who are well-trained to tackle the situation.
He disclosed that Jigawa State contributes a lot to the food security of the nation and the affected area was a major point where food is produced for both the people of the state and the nation at large.
He appealed for the prompt intervention of the corps in providing security for farmers in the affected areas in order to restore their confidence to freely go back to the farm.
“I want to passionately appeal to you to give us a squad or a team of your Agro Rangers who are well trained and specialised in dealing with the issue at hand.
“If we have that opportunity, it will bring lasting peace to the area. Our people would be able to go to the farm and perform their economic activities in the areas” he said.
The governor stated that Jigawa State contributes a lot to the food security of the nation and the affected area was a major point where food was produced for both the people of the state and the nation at large.
Namadi commended the corps for its pivotal role in the maintenance of internal security in the nation.
He expressed satisfaction with the performance of the corps nationwide and lauded the Commandant General for providing quality leadership through dints of hard work, dedication and patriotism.
“I want to thank you for the good and commendable performance of the corps in the area of internal security.
“Within just two years, you have transformed the agency through your hardwork and repositioned it for better performance,” the governor said.
In his response, Audi thanked the governor for his visit and promised to deploy well-trained Agro Rangers personnel to the state to find lasting solutions to the lingering farmers’ and herders’ clashes.
“By our Act, NSCDC is mandated to protect and provide security for the government’s critical national assets and infrastructure.
“We have over 10,000 staff in the Agro Rangers’ department that is well trained to provide security and safety for farmers and other agro-allied products and investments in the nation.
“We concentrate on states that are major producers of food for this nation and Jigawa is one of the states that give food security to this country.
“We have been getting intelligence reports on the way bandits and kidnappers scare farmers and since we have some reserve personnel for this kind of request, we will provide the service that you need”, the CG assured.
Audi also thanked Namadi for his support to the corps in Jigawa State and assured him of putting a stop to the security challenges facing the agricultural sector.
He said that more efforts will be channelled towards peace-building through the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), pointing out that in the last two years, over 100 farmer/ herder clashes were amicably resolved by the corps.
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