Usman Baba-Ngelzarma, the national secretary of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, on Tuesday denied the group’s involvement in the gruesome killing of over 80 people in Plateau state.
He said the statement of Danladi Ciroma, the group’s north-central zone chairman, that the killings were retaliatory, was his personal opinion.
Fulani militias were reported to have carried out the killings in several communities in Plateau on June 23, leading to reprisal attacks by locals on some Muslim communities in the state.
Ciroma, had alleged that the attack was revenge for the stealing of about 300 cows in the Berom area of the state.
His statement generated a lot of condemnation from Nigerians, who blamed the herders for several killings in the country without facing any prosecution from the security agencies.
“We have never claimed responsibility and will never claim responsibility because the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association is a non-violent, peaceful association. We don’t encourage violence; we don’t accept it, support it, or condone it in any way and by whosoever. We don’t like violence.
“Whoever is speaking on behalf of this association that’s not the national president, my humble self, who is the national secretary, or the national PRO, is on his own. He’s not speaking for the association; he’s speaking on behalf of his humble self, not the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association.
“How can we take responsibility? We’re not a violent association,” Baba-Ngelzarma was quoted to have said.
He sympathized with the government and people of Plateau State for the killings, describing it as ‘unfortunate’.
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