Arewa Consultative Forum, on Sunday, called on the Federal Government to urgently investigate the circumstances surrounding the killing of 40 pastoralists and butchers around Doma, Nasarawa State, allegedly by a drone strike on January 25, 2023.
Last week, the herders were killed in the Rukuni community of Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa.
They were said to have been trailed by the guards and killed while offloading the cattle shortly after reaching their destination in Nasarawa.
Reacting to the killings, ACF through its Secretary General, Murtala Aliyu, urged the Federal Government to immediately fish out the perpetrators to face the law.
The statement.read, “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 the 25th of January 2023.
“To our knowledge only government has the power to deploy armed drones.
The circumstances surrounding the killing of pastoralists who went to Makurdi, the Benue state capital to retrieve 1250 impounded cattle from the Benue Livestock guards after paying a Fine of N29 million to guards.
“Sources told the ACF that 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 occurred barely six months after hundreds of livestock were killed when a Nigerian Air Force helicopter gunship from the Makurdi Base Operation carried out a strike, killing and wounding animals and some herders in Awe, also in Nasarawa state.
He said in a serious country, the death of one person is enough to attract the attention and intervention of the government adding, “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.”
He commended Nasarawa Government for the intervention it made so far in giving medical attention and support to survivors and the victims’ family.
While condemning what he described as “unwarranted killing”, he extended ACF’s condolences to the families of the deceased and the government of Nasarawa and called for adequate compensation to the families of the victims.