By SEGUN AYINDE, ABEOKUTA
The Commander, Ogun State Social Orientation and Safety Corps, Mr. Soji Ganzallo, has urged the Federal Government to tighten security along the country’s borders in a bid to end the menace of killer Fulani herdsmen in the land.
Ganzallo made this call in an exclusive interview with our correspondent in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
He said that unless the FG embarked on effective policing of the nation’s borders, the hope of curbing insecurity in the country might be a mirage.
According to him, the herdsmen perpetrating the heinous crime are not Nigerian Fulani herdsmen, but immigrants from neighbouring countries such as Cameroon and Niger Republic.
Linking the problem to the nation’s porous borders, Ganzallo said there was the need for the FG to map out strategies to curb the menace.
He explained that most of the armed robbery and kidnapping cases were orchestrated by the aliens, who got to the country through the backdoor.
He also advised that the nation’s security architecture be redesigned to be able to check such a development.
In Ogun State, he said that measures had been put in place by Governor Dapo Abiodun to prevent the killer herdsmen from infiltrating communities across the state.
He disclosed that the governor had directed the So-Safe Corps to work in collaboration with other security agencies in the state to police the state’s borders.
Ganzallo said, “It is very important that the FG, aside from the internal control of the security in the country, makes sure that our borders are seriously policed so that influx of foreigners into the country will not continue.
“I will say emphatically, from my experience in security job, that it is the influx of foreign Fulani that is causing problem in our nation today. I must tell you they are not of Nigerian descent; most of them are from Cameroon, Niger Republic and other African countries.
“How will a foreigner get into your country with arms and ammunition? It is totally wrong. No advance country will allow such a thing. I advise the Federal Government on the need for a serious policing of our borders.
The So-Safe commander added, “Our borders are very porous and so many things get into the country through our borders. This is affecting us seriously. When we talk about crime in Nigeria, we don’t look at our porous borders.
“We have been living with the Nigerian Fulani for over 50 years. We have not been in this kind of problem. We have foreign Fulanis in our country with different motives. They are just using the cattle as a cover-up.”
