Taraba State Governor, Darius Dickson Ishaku, has again raised the alarm that fleeing members of the Boko Haram members are infiltrating the state.
He said this on Monday when Commander of the 23 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Yolanda, General Bello Abdullahi Mohammed, paid him a visit.
He stated that the insurgents that fled Sambisa forest were now occupying the Bali forest.
Ishaku noted that this had increased robbery, kidnapping, rape and other crimes.
The governor called the attention of the military to the increasing state of insecurity at the Gashaka Gumpti National Park.
He said criminals had infiltrated the Park, thereby making it unsafe for tourists.
He commended the military for its role in helping to restore peace to communities affected by communal crises and appealed that the issue of killer herdsmen be checked.
“The situation now is such that herdsmen carry sophisticated weapons instead of sticks which they were known to carry and they now often overwhelm security agencies sent to confront them”, he said.
“In the past, herdsmen and farmers enjoyed a cordial and symbiotic relationship.
“Farmers wanted herdsmen to leave their cattle on their farms long enough to eat up grass and remnants of harvested crops and in the process fertilize the farms by excreting their wastes there.
“Even when the cattle ate the farmers’ crops, the matter was always amicably resolved with the herdsman paying a token compensation. These never resulted in any fight or crisis”, he said.
General Mohammed assured the Governor of that his officers are men will continue to work for peace in the state.
He said, “Our men are always ready and willing respond any time they are called to help restore peace”.
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