The Niger State government has disclosed that it has commenced the profiling of herders  to strengthen security and regulate the movement of livestock.

The Commissioner for Nomadic and Pastoral Affairs,  Umar Sanda Rabe made this known during a quarterly media briefing organised by the state’s Ministry of Information and Orientation where in he said any pastoralist entering the state without an official permit would  be regarded as a rustler.

Rabe said the policy was introduced to enable the government to monitor pastoralists entering the state and keep track of their activities, particularly at the local government councils level sharing borders with  neighbouring states.

The commissioner noted that before the establishment of the Ministry of Nomadic and Pastoral Affairs on August 23, 2022, the state government had no accurate data on the pastoralists operating in Niger State nor the population of cattle.

The government, he said, plans to establish a comprehensive database within the next three years containing details of pastoralists, the number of livestock they own and their locations across the state.

“With the political will of Governor Mohammed Bago, we now have comprehensive data on the leadership of pastoralist groups in Niger State. We know their associations and their chairmen in various localities.

“Once we have this information, we will be able to identify where they are and provide them with essential social amenities such as potable water and other basic services,” he said.

Rabe further disclosed that the Niger State government led by Bago had introduced support programmes for women and youths in pastoral communities and was developing strategies to address recurring conflicts between herders and farmers, noting that most of the conflicts recorded in the state in recent times were land disputes rather than herder-farmer clashes.

The Niger State Commissioner of Police, Adamu Elleman, who was represented by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, in his presentation noted that the recent influx of pastoralists into the state was largely due to the security challenges in neighbouring states.

He assured that the police would continue to work with the state government and other security agencies to profile incoming pastoralists and ensure that criminal elements did not exploit the constitutional right to freedom of movement to threaten public safety.

The Commissioner for Information and Orientation Nana Obed, in his welcome address urged all the government functionaries to present factual and comprehensive details of their agency’s activities, even as he stressed that the media should be objective and constructive in the question and answer session.