The Police Command in Nasarawa State has confirmed the alleged killing of 27 pastoralists in an ‘airstrike’ in Doma Local Government Area of the State.
Confirming the development and casualty figure on Thursday in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, the Command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ramhan Nansel, said this was the outcome of preliminary investigation into the incident.
He said the pastoralists had on Tuesday, gone to Benue to pay fines for the release of cattle impounded by the Benue Livestock Guards implementing the State’s Anti-Open Grazing and Ranching Law.
According to Command Spokesman; “While they were loading some of the cows into vehicles on Tuesday night in Kwatiri village, a border community between Benue and Nasarawa, something like a drone or an aircraft hovered in the air and shelled them.”
Nansel said the Commissioner of Police, Maiyaki Mohammed-Baba, had visited the scene of the incident and also attended the burial of the deceased alongside the State Deputy Governor, Dr Emmanuel Akabe and some traditional rulers.
He said investigation was ongoing to unravel those behind the act, adding that the Command had deployed policemen to the area to prevent the breakdown of law and order.
Meanwhile, the Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule had since condemned the dastardly act, saying that he was in touch with his Benue counterpart over the matter as security agencies continued their investigations.
However, he called on the people to remain calm and avoid talking laws into their own hands.
In a related development, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) also condemned the alleged killing and called for full investigation to unravel those behind the attack.
In a statement released by its National Public Relations Officer, Muhammad Nura, MACBAN said; “This is the third time we are experiencing such happenings.”
He said that apart from the victims, livestock were also killed in the attack, adding; “MACBAN describes the action as not only condemnable but a war crime under the Geneva Convention that prohibits the wanton killing of livestock.
“We call on the authorities to investigate this terror, punish the culprits and to be sure that incidents like this will not happen again,” the Nura said. – NAN
