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The Chairman, Eha-Amufu and Fulani Communities Peace and Reconciliation Committee, Mr Tony Edeh, said the agreement was reached on Saturday in Enugu after a meeting between the groups.
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Following incessant attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen on Eha-Amufu communities in the Isiuzo Local Government Area of Enugu State,
the affected communities and Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) have agreed to set up a joint task force to provide security in the area.
The Chairman, Eha-Amufu and Fulani Communities Peace and Reconciliation Committee, Mr Tony Edeh, said the agreement
was reached on Saturday in Enugu after a meeting between the groups.
Edeh said the groups agreed to set aside their differences and continue to live together in peace.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that Fulani militias had sacked no fewer than 25 farm settlements in Mgbuji and Agu-Amede Autonomous Communities in Eha-Amufu in the last 18 months.
The communities have also witnessed a series of kidnappings and killings by suspected herdsmen.
However, a committee with members drawn from both sides was inaugurated and mandated to reconcile the two groups and work out a sustainable solution to the spate of insecurity in the area.
The chairman of the committee said the groups have been able to find a lasting solution to the problems.
He said the committee also agreed on how to forestall such incidences that led to mistrust between the pastoralists and the host communities.
“We have agreed on a number of things on how to move forward and make sure that the conflict is resolved. It is better to follow peace and we have all agreed that we will continue with peace.
“In no distant time, we will start the implementation of those necessary steps in order to continue to live together peacefully,” Edeh said.
Also, the Anglican Bishop of Eha-Amufu Diocese, Bishop Daniel Odinga, described the peace and reconciliation deal as a good one.
Odinga said it was good that both parties involved in the conflict met to resolve the issues.
“The meeting was a good one because the people involved in the conflict have come together to resolve the issues. We have agreed to start relating well and stop all the kidnap and attacks.
“It is for us now to articulate our points and meet the government to come in and be involved in settling the matter completely so that we will live in peace like before,” Odinga said.
Furthermore, a representative of the Fulani community and South-East Zonal Chairman, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Alhaji Gidado Siddiki, commended the process.
Siddiki said it was gratifying that the mutual suspicion between the herders and members of their host communities had been laid to rest.
“Our people were being suspected as the perpetrators of the series of kidnap and attacks in the area. We in turn were suspecting members of the host community as being responsible.
“So we decided to come together to find out what is actually happening in that area so that we can agree on how to police the community and live together in peace,” he said.
