Herdsmen Are Killers, Not Victims – Gov Ishaku

Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State on Monday said herdsmen are killers and not victims, adding any form of propaganda aimed at portraying the herders as victims would eventually fail.

Ishaku’s statement is coming on the heels of comment by his counterpart, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State that the claim by the herdsmen that some state governments were arming militias to attack them was outright falsehood.

The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), in a press conference on Sunday had alleged that Benue and Taraba state governments, among others, were sponsoring a hate campaign against herdsmen and also arming ethnic militias to kill them.

According to the National Secretary of MACBAN, Usman Ngeljarma, who spoke for the group in Abuja on Sunday,  “It is no longer hidden that some state governments are sponsoring ethnic militias against our people, recruiting and arming locals to kill our people and rustle their livestock as seen recently in Benue and Taraba states.”

But speaking through his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Bala Abu, Governor Ishaku said MACBAN was trying desperately to turn the truth upside down.

“The people who were given mass burial were not the Fulani. National television stations and newspapers published the story. No single Fulani man was killed; instead, they (Fulani) were the killers.

“I challenge them to come out with evidence against the governor that he is training ethnic militia against the Fulani. They should also name the location where the training is taking place so security agencies can move in to effect arrest.

“We are aware of their plot to stop the implementation of the Taraba State Open Grazing Prohibition Law which is due to commence soon, but the governor won’t be deterred in his quest to bring peace to the state,” he said.