A large number of nomadic Fulani residents have rejected an executive order that directed them to vacate the bushes of some communities in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State.
Chairman of the council, Mr. Louis Ndukwe issued the order for the people who took residence in the bushes to leave within seven days following a wave of killings and kidnappings in the council.
The council boss noted that the criminal activities were being perpetrated what was believed to have their hideouts inside the bushes.
Ndukwe informs that the council will demolish their structures if they refuse to heed directives of the order.
On Sunday, the nomadic Fulani protested along the Benin-Asaba-Onitsha expressway, saying that they were not criminals. They added that they were law-abiding Nigerians and have lived all their lives in the state.
Mr. Idris Abubakar, speaking on behalf of the protesters, lamented that the hardship they would be subjected to should the council go ahead to demolish their structures is a needless one.
He described the order as draconian, adding that it would cause more havoc.
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.”
