Plateau State chapter of APC Youths Online Forum ask Buhari to order arrest of Danladi Ciroma

MEMBERS of the Plateau State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Youths Online Forum have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to order the arrest of Danladi Ciroma the chairman of the north central zone of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (Macban).

Last Sunday, armed Macban Fulani cattle herdsmen attacked the villages of Razat, Ruku, Nyarr, Kura and Gana-Ropp in Gashish District in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State, hacking 86 innocent people to death. In response to the attack, Alhaji Ciroma said the massacre took place as a retaliation for local people stealing 300 cattle belonging to Fulani herdsmen.

Alhaji Ciroma said: “These attacks are retaliatory. As much as I don’t support the killing of human beings, the truth must be told that those who carried out the attacks must be on revenge mission.

“There have been recent reports of cow rustling and destruction of farms between Berom farmers and Fulani herdsmen and the people carrying out these criminal activities are well known to the communities but they are hiding them. Fulani herdsmen have lost about 300 cows in the last few weeks as 94 were rustled by armed Berom youths in Fan village, while another 36 cows were killed by Berom youths and in addition to that, 174 cattle were rustled and the criminals disappeared with them to Mangu."

Incensed by the comments, the APC youth organisation has called ion President Buhari to act by mandating security operatives to arrest Alhaji Ciroma. Pius Tongmaan, the group's chairman, made the call while addressing journalists in Jos the Plateau State capital.

Mr Tongmaan said: “We call on the federal government led by our detribalised and patriotic president, Muhammadu Buhari, to as a matter of public importance, mandate the security agencies to arrest and question the statements attributed to the north central chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria Danladi Ciroma, who has given a lead about the perpetrators of the attack by referring to its as retaliatory, where he justified the killings on the basis of over 300 cows allegedly rustled by some natives of Barkin Ladi. In as much as we don’t condone criminality by acts of cattle rustling, we also do not accept any individual or group that resorts to taking the laws into their hands by killing and maiming innocent women and children, or the cowardly acts of blocking the federal highways and killing innocent travellers by setting their vehicles ablaze.

“We also condemn in strong terms the hijacking of a peaceful protest by hoodlums which led to the vandalisation of public properties and the smashing of vehicles worth millions of naira. We want to also condemn the activities of the opposition in the state that has been feasting on the attacks to make an issue by spreading propaganda, inciting and hate speech on social media.

He added that while they  mourn and have a rethink on Nigeria's co-existence as a people, we his association wants to commiserate with the families of the victims and those displaced from their homes. So far, the federal government has deployed surveillance aircraft to the area to try and fish out the murderous herdsmen.