Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Senate minority leader, has accused the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, of threatening Nigeria’s unity with his reaction to the call for the ban on open grazing by Southern Nigerian Governors.
It was earlier reported that the Southern Nigerian Governors recently banned open grazing in the region to control the incessant crisis between farmers and Fulani herders.
But Malami, while speaking on Channels Television on Wednesday, faulted the decision of the governors, saying it does not align with the provisions of Nigeria’s constitution.
Reacting, Abaribe, in a statement by his media aide, Uche Awon, described Malami’s statement as a dangerous mindset.
The statement read in part, “While the local “bureau de change” business mostly done by the Fulanis are operating in all parts of Nigeria, why have they not elicited any resentment of other Nigerians?
“It’s simply because they live and do their business peacefully without any problem. It’s the murderous activities of Fulani herders that have given rise to the current demand for laws that will bring about peaceful coexistence of all Nigerians.
“Such a divisive statement from a top federal government official, in fact, the chief legal adviser to the Federal Government at that, exposes a very dangerous mindset.
“This disposition has no doubt raised the tension in Nigeria to a frightening level.
“Why should an Attorney General of the Federation be so fixated in evoking ethnic/regional fault lines when duty calls for him to be a statesman?
“It’s disheartening that Mr Abubakar Malami has chosen to debase our country. He has indeed questioned Nigeria’s unity. Very unfortunate.”
