President Muhammadu Buhari has decried how increasingly cheap human life was becoming in Nigeria, as desperate people pursued their quest for instability and chaos which they hoped would give them an advantage in the coming elections.
The President stated this in his reaction to recent clashes in Plateau State which left scores dead.
This is just as Chairman, North Central zone of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders’ Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Ciroma Danladi, has issued a statement claiming responsibility for the killing of at least 86 persons in Plateau villages.
The Miyetti Allah leader claimed that the attacks were in retaliation for the killing of over 300 cows in the last few weeks by the villagers, a position the President’s statement has confirmed
According to the President “We know that a number of geographical and economic factors are contributing to the longstanding herdsmen/farmers clashes. But we also know that politicians are taking advantage of the situation. This is incredibly unfortunate.”
The President however appealed to “Nigerians affected by the herdsmen/ farmer clashes must always allow the due process of the law to take its course rather than taking matters into their own hands.”
Presidency said information available to it indicates that “about one hundred cattle had been rustled by a community in Plateau State, and some herdsmen were killed in the process. The state governor, Simon Lalong, had invited the aggrieved groups and pleaded against further action while the law enforcement agents looked into the matter. Less than 24 hours later, violence broke out.
“Some local thugs then took advantage of the situation, turning it into an opportunity to extort the public, and to attack people from rival political parties. There were reports of vehicles being stopped along the roads in the state, with people being dragged out of their cars and attacked if they stated that they supported certain politicians or political party.
Presidency also revealed that “on his way back to Jos after attending the All Progressives Congress (APC) Convention in Abuja, the state governor had to dismantle a number of illegal road blocks set up by these thugs. There were also a number of dead bodies thugs had killed, lying along the road.”
Miyetti Allah leaders in the statement described the attacks as “retaliatory” adding that “As much as I don’t support the killing of human being, the truth must be told that those who carried out the attacks must be on revenge mission.”
“There have been recent reports of cow rustling and destruction of farms between Berom farmers and Fulani herdsmen. The people carrying out these criminal activities are well known to the communities but the communities are hiding them”.
Miyetti Allah group affirmed that “ Fulani herdsmen have lost about 300 cows in the last few weeks – 94 cows were rustled by armed Berom youths in Fan village, another 36 cows were killed by Berom youths. In addition to that, 174 cattle were rustled and the criminals disappeared with them to Mangu.
“Since these cows were not found, no one should expect peace in the areas. Even soldiers that went after the criminals to recover the rustled cows were shot by the armed rustlers and eventually escaped with all the cows”.
“The government of Governor Lalong has done a lot to restore peace, but the criminal elements hiding among their people are the ones frustrating these peace efforts”.
“Though the security agencies have tried, they need to do more by being fair to all parties; they should not neglect any report presented by Fulani of Berom because such report can lead to attacks and deaths if not properly handled”.
The group stated that although “criminals thrive a lot in Berom communities, but when the Fulani, who are always victims of their crime, react with attacks, they blame the government”.
“These communities have leaders, why hide the criminals? They should fish out the criminals and hand them over to security agencies to avoid death of innocent ones”.
“As it is today, the Berom man cannot go to farm, the Fulani cannot breed his cows in Berom Land. This can be stopped if the security agencies do more than what they are currently doing. The attacks will stop as soon as the security agencies stop Berom youths from stealing Fulani cows”
