The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Kwara State chapter, has called on the state government and security agencies to investigate the alleged killing of Fulani people in the Edu Local Government Area of the state.
In a statement in Ilorin on Friday, the state chairman of Miyetti Allah, Alhaji Shehu Garba, urged the state government to consider compensating the Fulani for the killing of their loved ones and the destruction of their means of livelihood and property, as was reportedly done for other ethnic groups in the state.
He said findings indicated that about 20 Fulani people were killed, with 42 cows, sheep, and goats missing, while 1,200 bags of grains and several shelters were destroyed at different times in Oke Ode, Ifelodun Local Government Area; Omu-Aran, Irepodun Local Government Area; and Gbugbu in Edu Local Government Area.
Alhaji Garba said that local vigilante members conducting stop-and-search operations on the Omu-Aran road had arrested more than five Fulani people who were in transit, adding that they were said to have been handed over to security agencies, ‘but up till now they are still missing without trace.’
He also described as worrisome the recent attacks on Fulani people wearing state government-approved vigilante uniforms in some parts of the state.
The MACBAN chairman called on the state government to look into the matter and accord due recognition to the Fulani by compensating all their losses, as was done for others, in the interest of justice and fairness.
He further urged security agencies to investigate the whereabouts of the Fulani allegedly handed over to them by the local vigilante members in Omu-Aran, to ascertain their location.