Farmers in Plateau State have berated the state governor Simon Lalong for accusing them of moving about with AK-47 weapons like Fulani herdsmen.
Lalong had while speaking on Channels TV programme, Sunrise Daily, monitored in Jos on Tuesday said Fulani herdsmen alone should not be crucified for bearing AK-47 as farmers also do the same.
The Governor had said, “I’m not justifying anybody to carry AK-47, but don’t forget that in the course of our deliberations and investigations, it was not only Fulani herdsmen that were carrying AK-47, but even farmers were also carrying AK-47.”
However, the Chairman of the Plateau State chapter of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), John Wuyep, described the statement as untrue. The chairman said, “In as much as people have the right to defend themselves, no farmer, to the best of my knowledge, was arrested for carrying arms and ammunition not to talk of AK- 47
“Farmers in the state are law abiding; they go about their business peacefully and farmers association the state has received no case of any farmer caught with AK 47 or any weapon.”
