Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom on Thursday said some herdsmen who wreak havoc in the country are not Nigerians.
He urged President Muhammadu Buhari to push for a review of the ECOWAS protocol for movement of persons, goods and services within the West African sub-region.
Addressing reporters in Abuja, the governor said: “In neighbouring countries like Ghana and Benin, people are properly profiled before they are allowed in.
“People coming into Nigeria have to be properly profiled. It is there in the ECOWAS protocol. I have studied it.
“Most of the herdsmen killing our people are not even Nigerians. Even the president himself said this during his visit to the United Arab Emirates.”
Ortom said the law prohibiting open grazing in Benue State was the reason for “the relative peace we are enjoying”.
Also on Thursday, Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, said herdsmen should not be blamed for possessing firearms.He said they only use it to protect themselves against rustlers who attack, kill and take away their cattle. (Nation)