ACF, Shari’ah Council demand compensation for 50 herdsmen killed in Nasarawa

Mouthpiece of Northern Nigeria, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), and the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria, have called for compensation to be paid to families of 50 pastoralists and butchers allegedly killed in drone strikes in Doma, Nasarawa State.

In separate statements and media briefings yesterday, both organisations also urged the Federal Government to investigate the circumstances leading to the killing of the herders and butchers.

In statement by its Secretary General Murtala Aliyu, the ACF said: “The circumstances surrounding the killing of pastoralists who went to Makurdi, the Benue State capital, to retrieve 1,250 impounded cattle from the Benue Livestock guards after paying a fine of N29 million to the guards, only to be killed by unknown people, calls for thorough investigation.”

It added: “The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) is calling on the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, conduct an investigation surrounding the murder of over 50 pastoralists and butchers around Doma, Nasarawa State, by a purported drone strike on January 25, 2023.

“To our knowledge, only government has the power to deploy armed drones. Sources told the ACF that the drone strike happened while the livestock were being offloaded after the owners were forced to take back their cattle in trucks from Makurdi.

“This incident came barely six months after a similar incident in which hundreds of livestock were killed when a helicopter gunship belonging to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) from the Makurdi Base Operation carried out a strike, killing and wounding the animals and some herders in Awe, also in Nasarawa State.

“In a serious country, the death of one person is enough to attract the attention and intervention of the government. The Nigerian air space is managed by the Federal Government through the Nigerian Airspace Management Authority (NAMA). So, we expect the Federal Government to immediately fish out the perpetrators of this dastardly act, whoever they are, to face the law.

“We, however, wish to commend the Nasarawa State government for the intervention they made so far in giving medical attention and support to survivors and the victims’ families. The ACF condemns this unwarranted killing and extends its condolences to the families of the deceased and the Government of Nasarawa State.

“We called for adequate compensation to be paid to the families of the victims,” said ACF.

Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Shari’ah, Nafi’u Baba-Ahmed, who addressed reporters in Kaduna, said: “The recent brutal murder of Fulani herdsmen along the Nasarawa/ Benue border is condemnable in the strongest terms.”

“This cruel massacre of over 30 persons and dozens of their cattle, for obviously no other reason than that it had happened one too many times before, with no action, apology or compensation.

“Clearly, Muslims’ and Fulani lives have become fair game, to kill and maim with impunity with nobody held responsible, without sanctions as a deterrent or compensation. It is immaterial whether it was the NAF or a drone. We call on the government and the security agencies to transparently investigate and make their findings public.

“In the meantime, Diyyah (compensation for death) and the annihilated cattle must be made promptly and publicly by the government/ security agencies.”

(Nation)