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•They belong to herders caught up in Mangu crisis – MACBAN
From Jude Owuamamam, Jos
The Special Task Force on security in Plateau State, otherwise known as ‘Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), has said that its personnel have arrested 1,000 cows grazing on farmlands in the embattled local government areas of Bokkos and Barkin- Ladi of the state.
Spokesman of STF, Capt. Oya James, in a statement, said that the arrest was part of the strategy aimed at addressing the sectarian strife in the state.
The statement, reads, “In an ongoing efforts to address the security concerns in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, troops of OPSH, yesterday, arrested over 1000 cattle and a large number of sheep, grazing on farmlands belonging to locals at Dumunan village in Bwai district of Mangu LGA.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that these cattle and sheep came from Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi LGAs respectively, and are currently in our custody for necessary action.
“The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Division Nigerian Army and Commander Operation SAFE HAVEN, Major General A. E. Abubakar, had promised to seriously tackle the root causes of the crisis and block anything that could lead to renewed attacks in Mangu general area,” the statement added.
However, the State Secretary of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Mr. Nuru Mohammed Abdullahi, said that the impression given for the arrest could be that the cows were deliberately sent into the farms by the herders.
Abdullahi, who spoke in an interview with Daily Sun Newspapers in Jos , said that contrary to such impression, the cows were abandoned by their owners during the clashes in Mangu and so they strayed into the farms unguarded.
