Fulani herdsmen from Ilorin, Kwara state, have appealed to the Ekiti state governor, Ayodele Fayose, to lift the ban placed on open grazing in Ekiti State.
The governor had during his visit to Oke Ako in Ikole Local Government on Monday, announced the ban on open grazing, advising farmers interested in cattle rearing to have their private ranches.
The Seriki of the Fulani from Ilorin, Alhaji Mahmood Ahmadu, stated that his members were not responsible for any wrongdoing.
Ahmadu, who said he had over 100,000 members in the state, said those who had their residences and property in Oke Ako, Irele and Ipao Ekiti had vacated them as a result of the order given by the governor that any cattle seen around the vicinity must be killed.
Ahmadu promised that his people would join hands with the governor to bring the perpetrators of the nefarious act to book and to secure the state and prevent it from being attacked by killer herdsmen.
“Ilorin Fulani herdsmen are not killers, we are responsible citizens. I have been in Ado Ekiti for 40 years. My people had property in different locations and are now living in palpable fear,” he said.