By Winnie Onu, Makurdi
The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Benue State chapter, has alleged that one of its members is missing and over 70 cows alongside three rams were killed in separate incidents across the state.
State Chairman of MACBAN, Ardo Risku Mohammed, accused personnel of the Benue State Civil Protection Guard and vigilante groups of being behind the incidents, particularly in Ohimini Local Government Area, where he claimed one herder disappeared and about 30 cows and three sheep were killed during a raid on a settlement.
He further alleged that 22 cows were killed in Katsina-Ala and another 24 in Guma by the same security outfit.
But government officials have dismissed the claims.
Chairman of Ohimini LGA, Adole Gabriel, said the council was aware of the allegations and that investigations were ongoing.
The Special Adviser to Governor Hyacinth Alia on Security and Internal Affairs, Joseph Har, exonerated the Civil Protection Guards, stressing that they only work alongside conventional security agencies and could not have acted alone.
Police spokesperson, DSP Udeme Edet, however, gave a different account, confirming only the killing of one cow and one sheep in Ohimini, as well as the disappearance of a Fulani man, while stressing that there was no record of mass cattle killings in Katsina-Ala or Guma.
