ACF calls on Fed government to investigate murder of 50 herders in Nasarawa

_{The Area Consultative Forum (ACF) has called on the federal government to report the murder of more than 50 cattle ranchers and butchers around Doma in} State of Nasarawa from an alleged drone strike on January 25, 2023.

This is stated in a statement by the forum’s secretary general, Murtala Aliyu, and was made available to journalists in Kaduna on Sunday.

The statement said: “As far as we know, only the government has the authority to deploy armed drones.

“The circumstances surrounding the murder of herdsmen who went to Makurdi, the capital of Benue state, to collect 1250 seized cattle from the guards of Benue Livestock after paying a fine of N29 million to guards left us gripped by the sad incident.

“Sources told the ACF that a drone strike took place while cattle were being unloaded after the owners were forced to take their cattle back from Makurdi in trucks.

“This incident came barely six months after a similar incident in which hundreds of animals were killed when a Nigerian Air Force attack helicopter from the Makurdi Base Operation carried out the attack, killing and injuring the animals and several 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.

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For example, the statement stated that the Federal Government manages Nigerian airspace through the Nigerian Airspace Management Authority (NAMA).

“So we expect that the federal government will immediately hunt down the perpetrators of this dastardly act, whoever they are, to face the law.

“However, we would like to commend the Nasarawa State Government for their intervention in providing medical care and support to survivors and the families of the victims.

“The ACF condemns this unjustified killing and extends its condolences to the families of the deceased and the government of Nasarawa State.
We called for adequate compensation to the families of the victims.