- Urges Miyetti Allah to support efforts at ending kidnapping and banditry in Nigeria
His Eminence Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Muhammed Sa’ ad Abubakar III has urged the leadership of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) to support efforts at finding lasting solution to the twin security challenge of banditry and kidnapping across the country.
The monarch also expressed concerns over the involvement of some Fulani children in banditry and kidnapping, saying he won’t sit and watch the nation crumble.
The Sultan, who is also President-General Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), spoke weekend at the inauguration and swearing-in of MACBAN’s new executives at the National Mosque Abuja.
He said the threat to divide the country was a consequence of certain things Nigerians were not doing right.
“People do not want to know the history of this great country. If we had known the history of the Fulani movement in various parts of the world definitely, we would not have gotten to the situation we are in now.
“Everybody knows that Fulani moves from point A to B. They move everywhere and they inter-marry. And we are peace loving. But how did we come to the situation we are in now, we find our children who are Fulani, but not all of them Fulani have been involved in banditry and kidnapping. What happened?
“When we meet with the executives we will discuss how to tackle this. How do we resolve them because it is high time we did. Because, we cannot sit down and look at this country and go into fractions just because of certain things we are not doing right. And I assure you that two major challenges to these new executives are constitutional amendments.
“Over 48 years of this MACBAN, we need to have some new inputs and new ideas into the constitution. We need funds to sustain our activities. We used NDLEA to test all the aspirants of drugs and they passed the test,” the Sultan said.
The NSCIA President-General called on MACBAN executive members to reposition the association against the backdrop of emerging contemporary challenges confronting the Fulbe within and outside Nigeria.
He said: “MACBAN by its reach across the entire Nigeria and the Sahel should aspire to be a balance factor to the instability in Nigeria and across the Sahel.
“MACBAN could do this in articulating a Fulbe perspective in response to the present level of violence as a natural reaction to deprivation, marginalization and balkanization of the Fulbe into different nation states in West Africa.”
The monarch further called on the new MACBAN leadership to work with Fulbe Civil Society Organisations, NGOs and stakeholders and come up with an education policy that recognises and reflects the peculiar requirements of the Fulbe in the knowledge-driven 21st century.
Buni speaks
In his remarks, Yobe state Governor Mai Mala Buni urged the MACBAN team to fashion out a new approach to tackling the farmers and herders’ clashes.
He also reiterated the need for the association and the new leadership to address incidence of social injustice among its members.
4 bandits killed in Chikun
Meanwhile, troops of Operation Forest Sanity have neutralised four bandits during clearance operations in identified hideouts around Tsohon Gayan, Chikun local government area of Kaduna state.
A statement Sunday by the Kaduna state Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, said the troops recovered a rifle and a motorcycle.
“In operational feedback to the Kaduna state government, the troops made contact and pursued the fleeing bandits. Two bandits were neutralized during the engagement, while credible human intelligence sources revealed that two others died from gunshot wounds.
“Credible sources in the general area reported that two of the four neutralised have been identified as Dogo Mallam and Bello Mallam.
“The troops recovered one AK-47 rifle, one magazine with 22 rounds of ammunition and one motorcycle.
“Governor Nasir El-Rufai expressed satisfaction at the report, and praised the troops for their resilience and courage in the latest success. Clearance operations will continue in the general area and other locations.”
Zamfara anti-thuggery body
Similarly, the anti-thuggery regulatory body established by the Zamfara state government to tackle incidences of political thuggery, drugs abuse and other related criminality, has warned politicians in the state to desist from sponsoring youth in thuggery during the 2023 campaign elections and beyond.
The state chairman of the body, Hon. Bello Bakyasuwa, gave the warning Sunday during an interview with newsmen in Gusau, the state capital.
He said the outfit was out to mitigate all forms of thuggery usually sponsored by political parties or politicians during electioneering and campaign to ensure a hitch-free polls in 2023.
“We are going to operate an unbiased operation where even the ruling party in the state will not be left untouched and any political party caught wanting will be dealt with without fear or favour,” he said.
“We are working independently and direct under the office of the governor being a chief security officer of the state, so we shall strive to ensure that any form of thuggery, drug abuse and other related criminality have been contained in accordance with the law across the state, particularly during electioneering campaign, elections and beyond,” Bakyasuwa stated.
While noting that the body has offices in all the 14 local government areas, Bakyasuwa further warned that any political thug found carrying dangerous weapons would be arrested by his team and hand over to the police for prosecution.
Credit: Blueprint
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