From Noah Ocheni, Lokoja
The Programme Manager of Pastoral Resolve (PARE), Muhammad Munji Sanusi, over the weekend called on vigilante groups and Hunters Associations to operate within their operational mandate to avoid escalation of conflicts in communities.
Sanusi made the call at the end of a four-day Hybrid Dialogue for Vigilante groups with Bakumba and Gadan Shagari communities of Lokoja Local Government of Kogi on Friday.
Sanusi said PARE as an NGO working on areas of Peace Building, Conflict Management and livelihood, education and health, was out to tackle the hydra-headed impasse arising from pastoralists and farmers’ clashes, through constructive engagement.
The Programme Manager decried a situation where vigilance groups and associations created to assist in ensuring unity and peaceful coexistence in communities turned out to be their albatross in clear deviation from the purpose for their creation.
Sanusi therefore, urged athe groups to cooperate with leaders and members of the communities to ensure peaceful coexistence while complementing the efforts of regular security agencies.
He said that the dialogue was organised as part of the implementation of the PARE project, Community Initiatives to Promote Peace (CIPP), funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The Programme Manager said the CIPP was a 5-year program being implemented in six states in Nigeria with Kaduna, Kano, Katsina in the North West and Kogi, Benue and Plateau states in the Middle Belt (North-Central).
Mr Israel Edwin Okpe, Senior Programmes Officer with PARE said the Organisation had been able to work with conflicting communities in the state on issues around farmer pastoralist conflicts to engender peace and unity in the communities.
Okpe attributed the herder/farmers onslaughts to negative perceptions saying that PARE had been able to train community groups on interest-based negotiations to resolve disputes under key activities like the Community Conflict Prevention Forum (CCPF).
“In places like Odu, Dekina Local Government, there were places that pastoralists could not graze before but can now graze in those areas without any issue because of our intervention.”
“In Bakumba community, we were able to open some cattle routes that were blocked as a result of conflicts”.
Also speaking, Edward Egbuka, Kogi Commissioner of Police urged the farmers, herders and the vigilante groups to collaborate for peace especially in the communities.
The CP who was represented by Ajiboye Alaba of the State Investigation and Intelligence Bureau (SIIB), urged the groups and their leaders to embrace justice in their dealings and support each other’s businesses to thrive.
