Abuja, Nigeria, Feb 10, 2018 / 12:00 pm
Amidst violent clashes between nomadic-herdsmen and settled farmers in central Nigeria, Catholic bishops met with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, urging him to work towards a peaceful, equitable solution.
"Herdsmen may be under pressure to save their livestock and economy, but this is never to be done at the expense of other people's lives and means of livelihood," the bishops told Buhari. during their Feb. 8 visit to the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The bishops decried the violent attacks in several Nigerian states, including the state of Benue, where 80 people have been killed and 80,000 displaced, according to the BBC.
The Nigerian government has proposed the creation of "cattle colonies" in central Nigeria to provide grazing land for northern herdsmen, who have moved south because of the desertification of the soil in northern Nigeria. They have violently clashed with the farmers of the region, as cattle have overtaken some farmed fields.