Unic Press UK: The United States Department of State has issued a statement, denouncing the killings in Plateau State of Nigeria by Fulani herdsmen.
In a press statement ‘Rural Herder-Farmer Violence in Nigeria’ on Monday, the Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said:
“The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms the killing of civilians and destruction of property in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region over the weekend. We are concerned by the recent increase in armed violence against civilians and call on all political and community leaders to lend their voices to peace and to work together to find lasting solutions to these rural conflicts. We join President Buhari and others in sending our deepest condolences to the affected communities, and in the desire to see the perpetrators brought to justice and to prevent further violence.”
The U.S. press statement is in response to the killings on Sunday of about a hundred people in communities in Plateau state of Nigeria by nomadic herdsmen of the Fulani tribe.
The killings by Fulani herdsmen seems to be intractable under the administration of President Buhari despite the fact that the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders’ Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) often publicly claimed responsibility for the murder of innocent people. In a recent statement Monday, the Chairman of the north central zone of the Cattle Breeders’ Association, Danladi Ciroma, said the killings in Plateau State are retaliatory, and will continue until the missing cows are found. Ciroma said:
“These attacks are retaliatory. As much as I don’t support the killing of human being, 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. The people carrying out these criminal activities are well known to the communities but the communities are hiding them. Fulani herdsmen have lost about 300 cows in the last few weeks – 94 cows were rustled by armed Berom youths in Fan village, another 36 cows were killed by Berom youths. In addition to that, 174 cattle were rustled and the criminals disappeared with them to Mangu. Since these cows were not found, no one should expect peace in the areas,” the Daily Post, Nigeria, wrote, citing Danladi Ciroma of the Cattle Breeders’ Association.
