Yoruba leaders, on Monday, asked the six South West governors not to negotiate with the Miyetti Allah.

Speaking under the aegis of Yoruba World Assembly, the leaders said herders should not be allowed to remain in Ondo forests.

Secretary-General of YWA, Dr Victor Taiwo, who spoke on behalf of the group, which represents 15 other Yoruba entities, also warned the federal government against arresting Sunday Igboho, who on Friday chased away Fulani herders in Igangan Ibarapa, Oyo State after giving them a seven-day ultimatum.

Taiwo, who spoke with newsmen ahead of a security summit fixed for Ibadan, in February, called on all governors in the zone to see the issue as a collective struggle devoid of political colouration.

He said the same method used in 1840 when Fulani from Ilorin were allegedly repelled by combined Yoruba forces, drawn from all supporting towns of Oyo Empire, in line with the defence arrangement perfected by Yoruba leaders, led by Alaafin Atiba, should be adopted.

Taiwo said, “It is too late to cry when the head is off.

“We have had enough of Miyetti Allah people.

“We don’t think anything good can come out of it.”

‘Buhari should step in’.

On its part, the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), on Monday, asked President Muhammadu Buhari to convene a meeting with state governors particularly those from the South West region to de-escalate rising tension across the country.

A statement signed by the Director, Publicity and Advocacy of the forum, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, said: “Events in the South West are assuming national dimensions and only a national approach will provide short and long-term solutions.”

According to the statement, “NEF expressed optimism that the meeting would achieve its objective of finding lasting solutions to kidnapping in the region and legitimate Fulani would be allowed to enjoy their constitutional freedom.”

Policemen deployed to Hausa communities in Lagos and Oyo

Anti-Riot and regular Policemen from Lagos State Police Command have been deployed to patrol Hausa communities in the state.

It was gathered that the decision to deploy security operatives to areas such as Ketu, Itire, Agege, Ijora and Alaba was to forestall any act of violence.

The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Hakeem Odumosu, on Monday held a security meeting with the newly trained Community Policing Special Constables drawn from all the local government councils in the state on the Ethics and Standard Operating Procedure of the Community Policing Project.

In Oyo, the Commissioner of Police, Mrs Ngozi Onadeko, while addressing the people of Ibarapa, assured them of their safety and maximum-security presence in the area.

She appealed to the youths and traditional leaders to allow peace to reign.

Except for some pockets of controversy in Ketu Communities of Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State over alleged connivance of soldiers with herdsmen to harass villagers in their communities, there has been no tension in the state over the quit notice order, Daily Trust reports.

The traditional rulers in the areas had last week claimed that the Fulani herders and soldiers numbering about 10, from the 35 Artillery Brigade, Nigerian Army, Alamala, Abeokuta, Ogun State, invaded Iselu, Ibeku, Agbon-Ojodu and Asa villages in Ketu communities and brutally meted out unwarranted assault against the villagers.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Edward Ajogun, had visited the communities to sue for peace and douse tension in the area.

There was calm in Sabo in Abeokuta, Ogun State where most Hausa and Fulani reside when correspondentS visited the area yesterday.

The Special Assistant to the governor on Inter-Ethnic Affairs, Hadi Sani, in a chat with Daily Trust, said, “We have a committee on farmers and herders and there has been a synergy.

“We are monitoring events as they unfold and all stakeholders are being engaged.”

The Sarikin Hausawa of Egbaland, Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Hassan, said there was no cause for alarm, saying the leaders had always been proactive towards avoiding clashes in the state.