Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, has declared herdsmen wielding AK-47 in the state as criminals.

Obiano, who said this on Tuesday during a security summit held at Prof. Dora Akunyili Women Development Centre in Awka, the state capital, expressed happiness with the cooperation existing between his government and security agencies in the state.

The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of Finance and Administration, Joseph Egbunike, represented the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, at the event that hosted other security chiefs.

The governor said the harmonious relationship between the state and security agencies not only led to security of life and property but also made the state the safest in Nigeria, stressing that his government had been able to support the agencies with logistics including over 500 vehicles and free fuel vouchers over the years.

He described the gun-welding herdsmen as armed robbers who should be treated as criminals and punished according to extant laws.

“Any herdsman with AK-47 is an armed robber. They should be pulled down. They should be treated the same way you treat other criminals. If you find any, report them to us. We won’t tolerate them in any part of this state. These itinerant herdsmen are those raping women and killing people.

“I have told the Cattle Menace Committee to conduct census on herdsmen in the state, so that we will have their data and relate with them effectively. If you have any issue with the herdsmen, report to the committee. We are going to resolve all the issues. But I am aware there are some issues yet to be resolved. We are working on revolving them,” he said.

Obiano charged the traditional rulers in the state to continue to maintain peace in their various domains, even as he charged leaders in various communities to bring their youths into leadership to curb the use of drugs.

“During the #EndSARS protests, security personnel were demoralised, and could not even move around with their uniforms. But the youth stepped in to do their work. That is what we want. Security is the duty of everyone, though the government has the duty of security of life and property.

“Bring the youth into the picture. In my town, it is the youth that made a law to stop the sale of drugs, and today there are no drugs in the town. The youths are the people who know where they are sold and who the consumers are. We have to bring them into the picture,” Obiano said.

Earlier, in his speech, the IGP rather chose to lament the negative effect of drugs and cultism, which he described as the worst of crime in the country.

Guardian