The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders
Association of Nigerian has said Fulani herdsmen, who have allegedly
been involved in serial killings in various communities in the country,
kill their hosts in self-defence.
The leader of a delegation of MACBAN to
the Defence Headquarters, Senator Dagiri Alkali, said the Fulani moved
into new territories in the country because they had been forced out of
their territories in the North.
He claimed that the Boko Haram
insurgents attacked the Fulani in the North-East and other parts of the
country and stole millions of cows from the breeders.
He added that the Fulani were also
victims of the activities of cattle rustlers in Katsina, Zamfara, Kebbi,
Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau, Benue and parts of Kogi states with millions
of cows taken away from them.
He wondered why people had not taken a
look at the factors that had driven the Fulani to different parts of the
country, asking where Nigerians expected the herdsmen to keep the over
20 million cows in the country.
He added, “When the reserves and forest
were gazetted and reserved for cattle breeders, this incident was not
there; but the increase in population has now wiped out the entire
grazing reserves in this country; 400 and something of them all wiped
out. And you have a population of about 20 million cows. Where do you
keep them? And every one of us likes to eat meat.
“This is a venture that over 20 million
people are engaged in. And nobody cares to know what the causes of this
problem are. Presently, you know the case of Boko Haram. They attacked
and decapitated the population of Fulani in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe and
some parts of Taraba.
“The cattle rustlers have displaced the
Fulani in Katsina, Zamfara, Kebbi, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau and Benue
and in some parts of Kogi. Millions of cattle have been taken from these
herdsmen. So when somebody says a Fulani man killed somebody, I wonder
why? How? It’s only a poor man that fights.
“But you, as the military people, you
know self-defence is an art. In the military, if you are attacked you
have to defend yourself. You have been squeezed; you have to find a way
to survive.”
He said when the Fulani were killed in
the bush, nobody carried it in the media, admitting that it was not
enough for anybody to kill innocent persons.
The Defence authorities have warned that
the military would go after those behind the killing of innocent
citizens and ensure that they were prosecuted in accordance with the
directive of the President to deal with the situation.
The Director, Administration, at the
Defence Headquarters, Maj. Gen. Fatai Ali, who represented the Chief of
Defence Staff, Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin, said the CDS had set up a
committee to interact with the stakeholders on the issue.
He warned those involved in violence to
stop forthwith as the Federal Government would subject them to the full
weight of the law.
According to him, the committee, led by
Maj. Gen. Edward Nze, had just arrived in Abuja from Benue for such
meetings with stakeholders.
He stated that the military was working hard to ensure that those who perpetrated the gruesome killings were apprehended.
“The recent herdsmen and local community
clashes in many parts of Nigeria are sources of serious concern. Many
lives have been lost. The President has directed security agencies and
indeed the military to handle the situation and ensure that no more
lives are lost.
“I want to assure you that the military,
in conjunction with other security agencies, is doing everything
possible to maintain peace and security in Nigeria in line with the
directive of the Commander-in-Chief.
“I want to also assure you that whoever
is involved in this killing will be brought to book and tried in line
with the law of the land.
“We are calling on all other parties,
who are interested in peace, to sheathe their swords and ensure that
they do not cause unnecessary casualties or deaths; otherwise, the
Federal Government of Nigeria will bring the full weight of the force
and law on them.”
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