Fulani herdsmen given two-week ultimatum to hand over guns

The Ashanti Regional Minister, John Alexander Ackon, has given nomadic Fulani herdsmen in the Sekyere Afram Plains a two-week ultimatum to return all guns in their possession to the District Security Council as a first step towards solving the mayhem caused by fulanis who have invaded that area.

He said disarming the herdsmen would reduce the power of the Fulanis to create any mayhem.  

The regional minister issued the instruction at Drobonso in the Ashanti Region during a meeting between the Kokomba indigenes and Fulanis who have been at loggerheads for sometime now.

A Kokomba was reportedly killed last month during a reprisal attack at Akokonitiri, a suburb of Drobonso, leading to the burning of the village as the Fulanis reportedly ran to Agogo in the Asante Akyem District of the region.

The Odikro of Akokonitiri, one of the Fulanis who fled to Agogo, returned last Wednesday to attend the conflict resolution meeting and to pledge his support to help prevent other Fulanis from entering the district.

Following the meeting, the Kokomba indigenes and the resident Fulanis in the Sekyere Afram Plains, who until last month had lived peacefully, agreed with the support of the security authorities to prevent any fresh invasion.

The Fulani herdsmen presently in the district, together with the predominantly Kokomba indigenes, are also to serve as gatekeepers to ensure that other Fulanis who may be running away from Agogo and other parts of the Eastern Region do not enter the community.

Beyond that, Mr Ackon, together with the District Security Council, has also rolled out measures including continuous police patrols to drive out any new herdsmen.

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Collaboration

The minister, however, reckoned the complex nature of fighting the menace and called for collaboration at all fronts, especially at the country’s entry and exit points.

He said while attempts were being made to flush out the Fulani herdsmen in Agogo, there were fresh reports that some cattle were being allowed into the country from other entry points, including the Western Region.

DCE

The District Chief Executive of Sekyere Afram Plains, Mr Fuseini Donkoh, together with the District Security Council, for instance has created a buffer to stop nomadic herdsmen from the Kwahu range and other parts of the Eastern Region from entering the district.

Dronbonso is sandwiched between the borders of the Eastern and Brong Ahafo regions, making it a bit complex and difficult to prevent the invasion of the nomadic fulanis.

Mr Donkor, however, gave an assurance that measures had been put in place to prevent what was happening in Agogo to hit the district.