Hundreds of nomadic Fulani residents have rejected an executive order directing them to vacate the bushes of some communities in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State.
Chairman of the council, Mr. Louis Ndukwe had issued the order for those resident in the bushes to leave within seven days following a spate of killings and kidnappings in the council.
The council boss noted that the criminal activities were being perpetrated by elements believed to have their hideouts in the bushes.
According to Ndukwe, the council will demolish their structures if they fail to heed the order.
But the nomadic Fulani on Sunday protested along the Benin-Asaba-Onitsha expressway, stating that they were not criminals.
They added that they were law-abiding Nigerians who have lived all their lives in the state.
Mr. Idris Abubakar, who spoke on behalf of the protesters, lamented that they would be subjected to needless hardship should the council go ahead to demolish their structures.
Describing the order as draconian, he added that it would cause more havoc and achieve the exact purpose for which it was issued.
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He accused Ndukwe of acting without the imprimatur of the State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa in issuing the quit notice.
“That law is null and void. We are lawful tenants and we have been paying rent. We have documents to prove that.
“We have become citizens of Delta State because we have lived here all our lives. If you ask us to go now, we don’t even know where to go,” the Fulani spokesman said.
Reacting to the protest, Ndukwe said, “We have not asked them to leave the local government but to come out of the bush and live socially and economically with us in the towns and villages. Our government is people friendly and the people of Anioma are very friendly too.”