In a press statement sent to our correspondent by the head of the group, Benjamin Amaechi, the protest would also illustrate the grave danger of the Fulani herdsmen and internationalise the activities of the herdsmen whose activities have led to thousands of deaths since President Buhari took over eleven months ago, the statement pointed out.
The organisers announced that “Westminster City (the seat of the British Government) has given Permission to Nigerians living in the UK to organise a mass protest against the ongoing Fulani Herdsmen Massacre in Nigeria.”
The world’s second most dangerous terrorist group has been ravaging parts of the country especially the North Central and South East killed several dozens in Enugu State few days ago.
Reports say the locals have begun organising vigilance groups to rout the herdsmen from the South East amid compromising attitude from government.
The protest organisers urged Nigerians to join the “global outreach, London Protest, to stop the bloodthirsty Fulani Herdsmen ravaging Nigeria, which the government has accepted as a norm.”
The group said procession would start from the Nigeria High Commission and terminate at the UK Parliament Building.
This is the first time such massive protests would be organised and would draw international attention to government’s silence on the activities of the herdsmen.
The herdsmen are said to be armed with dangerous weapons like AK-47, which they use freely on their host communities.
The organisers said the protest, which would take place on Tuesday, May 3, 2016 by 11:00a.m to 1p.m, was to ensure international attention is paid to the nefarious activities and government’s apparent compromise, and essentially to make Nigeria a safe and better place through international help to curb the atrocities of the herdsmen.
The group “will target prominent British leaders to convey their message including the Queen of England, the British Prime Minister and all British Members of Parliament.
“Also, international media organisations such as the BBC, CNN, AlJazeera ,VOA, FoxTv, SkyTV, Ben TV, Evening Standard, Guardian UK and others have indicated interest to cover the protest in London on May 3,2016,” the statement added.
In a related development, the Izu Umunna Cultural Association, an Igbo cultural organization has expressed dismay at the level of brigandage and carnage being unleashed on the people of South East by Fulani herdsmen.
The group condemned the apparent poor response of security agencies to these atrocities and the near complicit endorsement exhibited by the Federal Government.
The Igbo group in a press statement issued in Jos on Friday by its Secretary-General, Dr. Ugo Ihekuna, respectively alleged that no fewer than 200 innocent people have been mowed down by the rampaging marauders with equal number of houses destroyed and farmlands completely destroyed.
According to them,”These actions, coming at a time the National Assembly has begun deliberations on the National Grazing Reserves Commission, is apparently one of the grand designs to alienate and appropriate lands in the South East. The strategy is to use Fulani herdsmen to coerce local farmers by ferocious force of arms to relinquish part of their farmland for grazing of their livestock as panacea for peace”, the group lamented.
Izu Umunna said it was concerned that the scenario as being played out in the legislature was to use the instrument of constitutional amendment to carve out large parts of land in the Middle Belt and Southern Nigeria and hand over to Fulani herdsmen.
With time, the Fulani will demand for the establishment of their chiefdom as they are doing in Kachia in Kaduna State where grazing reserve was carved out for them by the government of Northern Nigeria in the early 1960s..
What is happening, the group said, must send a strong signal to the government and people of the South East that having devastated their lands through the activities of the Boko Haram, which had created deserts in almost the entire length and breadth of North East, the next alternative is to turn to the South East where there is lush green vegetation for grazing.
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