Herdsmen Saga: Shun Broad Generalisation; Judge Criminals As Individuals Not Region… Adamu Sokoto Tells Federal Govt

Famous Reporters, Owerri

Following the extant order of the federal government on Fulani/ herdsmen activities, a prominent Northern Agriculturist in Owerri, Imo State, has implored the presidency to refrain from generalised pronouncements in judging criminal cases, saying law offenders should be treated as individuals and not as a group or region.

Amb. Hassan Adamu Sokoto made this appeal during an exclusive interview with Famous Reporters, weekend, at Concorde Hotel, Owerri, the state’s capital, stressing that accusing an entire group or region of indulgence in criminalities consequent upon one man’s sin is an unjust judgement.

Adamu Sokoto urged the federal government of Nigeria to
mete out equal treatment to civilians who engage in drug business and those who unlawfully possess weapons, saying that both are illegal acts, hence they are criminals, as none, he maintained should be exonerated.

He, however, condemned indignantly the recent deductive reasoning method of the federal government deployed in treating the nefarious behaviours of most herdsmen who evidently are seen in possession of weapons.

Amb. Hassan urged the federal government to arrest any Fulani herdsman caught with AK-47, saying that no Nigerian is entitled to possessing wrappers except the various security agencies.

He said: “no Nigerian is permitted to handle gun except security officers. You’re not entitled to use gun. The only people we know who are entitled to use weapons are the security agents, the police, Army, custom, and some of the paramilitaries. These are the people who are entitled to hold rifle. So, no civilian is entitled to hold the rifle because it will engineer him to commit a sin, it will engineer him to commit crime more especially the youths.

“When an Hausa man goes against the law, treat him as a criminal
“He said: “There is no any tribe where you cannot find a bad person. So, when they catch a Fulani man, Igbo man or Hausa man committing a crime they make a general conclusion. That’s very wrong. Federal government should learn to judge everyone as an individual and not as a group, not when one man goes wrong they begin to judge and condemn the entire region because of one man’s error, that’s unfair.”

Furthermore, he reiterated that crime and criminality could be traceable to every region and tribe of the country, arguing that no part of the country is devoid of such.

“Every tribe houses criminal, so criminality is not restricted to a certain region or race.

Continuing, he said: “now, drugs are becoming rampant in the country. Majority of the persons you see now live on drugs and I don’t advise anybody to get involved in crime. So, anyone caught with drugs, weapons should be judged as a criminal no matter the tribe the individual comes from because in every other tribe the person will be termed a bad person. Judge everyone equally; that’s how God does his things.

Meanwhile, Adamu who enjoined Nigerians to eschew all manners of tribalism, insisting that Nigeria is one, used the medium to congratulate the Governor of Imo State, Sen. Hope Uzodinma on his one year in office, while praying for a peaceful coexistence between the indigenes and Hausa community.

On the recurrent restriction of movement of farm produce from the Northern region to the Southern region, the renowned Agrobusiness man stated point-blank that such could only be detrimental to the farmer, maintaining that government has would never incur any loss whatsoever.

He described the Northern region as the food basket of the country whereas the Eastern region is designed to boost the country’s economy through the presence of oil in the area.

“God created Nigeria and made the North to be producing food while the Eastern region is to produce oil. So, we are all one Nigeria. There should be no room for tribalism and government knows about this but don’t want to do anything about it. Let’s be always conscious of this fact that the Sam God who created the Northerners and blessed their land to produce food for the nation is the same God who created the Eastern region and blessed their land with oil. So, we are all one Nigeria.”

However, he disclosed that he had instructed his workers to ensure that the massed had enough meat to consume during the period of food scarcity, adding “yes, I instructed them to slaughter as many cows as possible to ensure that the masses had enough meat. I said to myself, if the people don’t have meat, what then will they eat. So, I ordered my people here to kill cows including pregnant ones.”

He, therefore, advised his Hausa brethren resident in Owerri to be law abiding carry out their businesses peacefully in the state.Herdsmen Saga: Shun Broad Generalisation; Judge Law Offenders As Criminals Not Region… Adamu Sokoto Tells Federal GovtHe, therefore, advised his Hausa brethren resident in Owerri to be law abiding carry out their businesses peacefully in the state.