Taraba Govt, Police Debunk Killing of 50 Cattle Breeders

From Wole Ayodele in Jalingo

Taraba state government and police authorities in the state have described the purported killing of 50 cattle breeders in the state as a misleading falsehood and calculated attempt to heighten the scourge of violence in the state.

The Chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, Taraba state chapter, Alhaji Sahabi Mahmud was said to have alleged that 50 Cattle breeders were killed in a fresh crisis in the state which was reported in Daily Trust of 13th April, 2016.

In a press release made available to newsmen in Jalingo and signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Media and Publicity, Mr Sylvanus Giwa, the state government described the report as a calculated effort by the leadership of Miyetti Allah to make mockery of the recent killings of 44 people in the state by Fulani herdsmen.

In the same vein, the state police command has equally described the report as complete falsehood as it declared that there is no record or report of the purported killing saying it was a figment of the imagination of the authors.

Debunking the report credited to the Miyetti Allah Chairman, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Joseph Kwaji said there was no such incident in the state and wondered why such a sensitive report would not be cross checked with the police before publication.

According to him, “the report is not true. There is no such incident. I want to advise pressmen to always cross check with the police before publishing such sensitive reports in the interest of peace and security.

“As a matter of fact, the report is not only misleading, false and mischieveous but an attempt to scale up the promotion of crisis in the state. The purported publication is also a calculated effort by the leadership of Miyetti Allah to make a mockery of the victims of the recent attacks by the Fulani herdsmen who allegedly carry sophisticated weapons and used same to unleash terror on the harmless and helpless innocent people of Dori, Maisuma,Angai, and Fali villages in Gashaka and parts of kurmi local Government ares of Taraba state,” the statement further said

The state government noted that the position of Miyetti Allah as captured by the paper could best be described as a ploy to shield its members who are strongly suspected to be responsible for the attacks on the aforementioned communities.

To further puncture the allegations, Giwa noted that the Miyetti Allah Chairman failed to present the photographs of his members that were purportedly killed in the crisis as was done by the police and the state government while presenting the gory details of the 44 people killed by the herdsmen.

Giwa equally stated that It is unfortunate and disheartening that an Association like Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders of Nigeria is not looking at the need for oneness irrespective of background but whipping up religious sentiment into the recent attacks on the innocent villagers who have lived for decades without any crisis.

Maintaining that the state governor, Darius Dickson Ishaku has continually emphasize the need for harmony and peaceful co-existance among the various ethnic groups in the state, Giwa however declared that state government is determined to bring the perpetrators of the dastardly act to book in order to ensure that the state is crime free.