Osun State Governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, has described killings by Fulani herdsmen as a threat to security in the country.

He said the killing of unarmed innocent people, who were not in any state of war, was unjustifiable and should not be tolerated in any civilised society.

The governor spoke at a conference titled, ‘African Knowledge and Alternative Futures,’ organised to honour Mr Toyin Falola, a renown professor of history, on his 65th birthday celebration.

Aregbesola called on security agencies in the country to stamp out the heinous crime and arrest the perpetrators.

He said, “As a people, we need to tread carefully here on the killings by the herdsmen across the country. As bad and reprehensible as they are, they are not as deadly as the Nigerian Civil War we fought between 1967 and 1970.

“So, I condemn the herdsmen atrocities. We must go beyond that to situate what will be our reaction and response as a people and a nation. However, I am joining other well-meaning people in calling on the security agencies to bring an end to this act.

“The cardinal duty of the government is the protection of lives and property. Every life is sacred and the government should keep it so. Those who are engaged in this barbarous act should be hunted, apprehended, tried and serve the full deed of the law. That should be our demand.”

Punch