The Northern Elders’ Forum has asked Fulani herdsmen to return to the north if their security cannot be guaranteed in their host communities in the south.
Speaking through its Director of Publicity and Advocacy, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, the NEF said the advice was based on alleged attacks on Fulani herders, families and communities in some states in the south.
The body used the medium to urge northern governors to commence the preparations to receive the Fulani communities being ejected from southern states, warning that the nation would be treading on dangerous grounds if it continues to associate an entire group with particular types of crimes.
The body therefore urged President Muhammadu Buhari and northern governors to protect law-abiding members of the Fulani communities from those it described as killers and criminals who apparently believe that the Fulani have no rights in Nigeria.

In a statement released on its behalf by Baba-Ahmed, the group said : “NEF is deeply worried by reports of ejections, under threats and attacks, of Fulani herders, families and communities in some states of the south. The forum has been receiving these reports since the night of Sunday, January 31, and has taken the responsible step by drawing the attention of authorities to the dangers, which these attacks represent for all Nigerians.

“We have also advised law-abiding Fulani communities to seek protection where it is available, and have appealed to other Fulani to resist temptation to take the law into their own hands.

“It is necessary to warn people who threaten law-abiding Fulani communities in all parts of Nigeria, but particularly in some parts of the South, to desist. Majority of Fulani are law-abiding and have rights to live lawfully wherever they can find means of subsistence.

“The Fulani will not be ejected from any Nigerian community only on the basis of being Fulani or herding cattle within the limits of laws and regulations. States that seek to limit criminal activities are perfectly entitled to do so, but they must follow due process, and avoid exposing innocent citizens to danger at all cost. The forum demands that the Nigeria Police must live up to its constitutional responsibility to detect crimes and arrest and prosecute criminals, whoever they are.”

The Northern Elders appealed to Nigerians to exercise restraint and not play into the hands of people who desire to achieve dubious political goals by pitting citizens against each other.