Fulani Herdsman kills brother over missing cow
The Nasarawa Police Command has arrested a 22-year-old herdsman, Bello Musa, alleged to have killed his brother, Abdullahi Musa, over a missing cow.
The suspect reportedly attacked his brother with a machete while fighting over a missing cow, delivering a fatal blow to Abdullahi's neck.
The State Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Bello, revealed that the incident occurred on March 9, 2018.
Recounting the shocking incident to The Sun, the suspect said, “My
brother, Abdullahi and myself took our cattle for grazing. Later, we
discovered that one cattle which was not our own had joined our herd.
"We were
three who made the discovery – Abdullahi, one Ibrahim and myself.
Abdullahi and I agreed to sell it. Later, he asked me to go and sell it
in the market. As I was taking the cattle, it escaped from me. I
returned back to tell Abdullahi.
"He did
not believe me. He accused of selling the cattle for N300,000. I tried
to explain to him, but he insisted that I sold the cattle for N300,000.
My father tried to settle the matter, without success.
"Abdullahi
said that I must pay N300,000 for the cattle or he would kill me. I
challenged him on why he would want to kill me over the cattle that
escaped from me.
Then he began making
phone calls to his friends, telling them I am a liar and that I sold the
cattle for N300,000. I became very angry and we started fighting. In
the course of the fight, he injured me on my right hand and I cut him
with my cutlass on the neck.”
Upon the conclusion of the ongoing investigation, the suspect will be charged to court.
Fulani Herdsmen and their licence to kill
Nowadays,
any mention of a Fulani herdsman is about illicit fear, terror, and
fright. They have become licensed killers who go about wrecking havoc,
destruction, and devastation anywhere they go.
Long gone are the
sticks and machetes they used in chasing away dangerous animals coming
for their cattle. They are now replaced with AK-47 guns, assault rifles,
rocket launchers and grenades which they use to sack whole communities,
kill and rape women with reckless abandon.
They
are no longer the mind-your-business-I -mind-my-business guy who goes
about with his flute to entertain himself while his wife milks the cows
to take to town to sell Fura da nono.
No one can
say exactly when the easy going Fulani herdsman became a killer and
bloodthirsty war monger but the transition has taken many by surprise.
From Plateau State to
Adamawa, from Benue to Kogi, Kaduna to Bauchi, Delta to Edo, Enugu to
Anambra, we wake up every day to hear how Fulani herdsmen wrecked one
havoc or the other, killing indigenes with reckless abandon, as if they have a license to kill and maim members of their host communities.
The
menace of the Fulani herdsmen has gone for too long without a check
from security forces and the government seems unable or willing to check
it and nip it in the bud.
In the last two years,
they have become more daring with the attacks becoming more fierce and
well-coordinated that it seems they have some backing from the security
agencies.
It is now a common sight to hear how they stormed a community, attack the people, kill at random, burn down houses and sack the indigenes with none of them being apprehended despite the fact that they keep occurring at an alarming frequency.
When
the menace started, many thought it had religious and ethnic coloration
but these days, they do not care if the community is inhabited by
Muslims or Christians.
Before now, they would
attack churches and communities largely inhabited by Christians but
these days, they do not care as they strike even Muslim communities as
in the case witnessed last weekend when they attacked a Mosque in Niger
State, killing more than 20 people.
Though
security agencies and the government has come out to say most of the
atrocities carried out are not necessarily done by the herdsmen as most
of the attackers are foreigners who sneak into the country, the bottom
line still lies in the fact that nothing is being done to put them in
check.
In some instances,
some of the actions of government make people wonder if they are really
ready to take the fight to the so-called aliens.
The
truth remains that the killing spree has continued unabated. Though one
cannot completely say they are carried out by the Fulani herdsmen, the
issue still remains that any of such attacks are attributed to them and
nothing is being done to arrest the tide.
The
state governors are doing practically nothing to provide security for
their people as the rampaging herdsmen go about their killing spree, yet
they collect billions as security funds every month.
The
police, the military, and the security services have shown that they
cannot protect the citizens of Nigeria from the marauding herdsmen and
it is left for Nigerians to rise up and defend themselves.
Fulani Herdsman kills brother over missing cow
Reviewed by opeyemi
on
6:14:00 am
Rating: