Arresting The Nigerian Herders-Farmers Conflict: The Unconstitutionality of the Ruga Policy

Authors

Jude Ezeanokwasa, Nnamdi Azikwe University

Abstract

The Ruga policy which the Federal Government claims to be aimed at ending the herders-farmers conflict that has claimed thousands of lives and rendered thousands internally displaced is perceived in most segments of the Nigeria society as a policy that would exacerbate rather than end the conflict. It seeks to establish in the States of the Federation settlements for Fulani herders who are usually illegally armed with guns as against unarmed local farmers. Due to stiff opposition from mostly non-Fulani ethnic nationalities Government suspended the policy. Since the policy is only suspended and not jettisoned, it is possible that government can revisit it. A key step in assessing the germaneness of this policy is whether or not it is in tune with the extant Constitution of Nigeria, the 1999 Constitution, and this paper concludes that it is not.

Recommended Citation

Jude Ezeanokwasa, Arresting The Nigerian Herders-Farmers Conflict: The Unconstitutionality of the Ruga Policy, 15 Intercultural Hum. Rts. L. Rev. (2020).
Available at: https://scholarship.stu.edu/ihrlr/vol15/iss1/5