Officials of the Enugu State Government have been quietly meeting with cattle breeders and sellers to sensitize them on the introduction of forestry guards in the State, Enugu Metro has learnt.

The meetings kicked off with the town hall meeting held at Ibagwa Nike on Tuesday 3 September 2019 with Igwe Emmanuel Ugwu presiding. Ugwu is the grand patron of the cattle herders in the South East Region.

Enugu Metro learnt that another town hall meeting was held later this week at the Owerri Road Central Mosque in Asata Enugu, where notable personalities among cattle pastoralists in Enugu were assembled.

“Government told them about the coming of the forestry guards and what would happen to anyone caught with arms,” a source at the meeting who was not authorized to talk about it to the press said.

We also learnt that the 1,700 strong forest guards recently have undergone tactical training on intelligence gathering and have been provided with the tools to work. Among the tools provided are buses, motorcycles, long vision equipment and communication gadgets to ensure that they carry out their duties effectively.

The forest guards are to work in partnership with Agro Rangers drafted by the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), in a well-coordinated security operation involving Immigration, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, and the Police.

Enugu Metro gathered that the sensitization message revolved around the ban on the use of arms for herding, the flushing out of illegal immigrants among the herdsmen, and the policing of alcohol and drugs use in affected areas of operation.

The Owerri Road meeting was jointly facilitated by the Sarkin Hausa, Alhaji Yusuf Sambo, who addressed his people on the coming regime and asked them not to be taken unawares, as well as State Chairman of cattle breeders and chairmen of cattle market groups around Enugu.

Governor Ugwuanyi has also appointed retired police assistant inspector general, Mr. Aloysius Okorie to join ex-IGP Ogbonna Onovo-led security committee to oversee the exercise of flushing out highway bandits from the State.

By police verified crime data per state,  Enugu state has the lowest  crime rate in Nigeria.

and Governor Ugwuanyi has continued to state the resolve of the state government to maintain the state as the choice state of residence and investment by both Igbos and other Nigerians. 

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