…arrest cattle breeders now – Opposition tells Buhari
The House of Representatives has expressed shock over Tuesday’s statement by the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, which threatened to force the President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, out of office.
The Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr Abdulrazak Namdas, said, “If it is true that they made the threat, it is shocking. This is very shocking indeed.”
Also, the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, condemned the attack on Senate president by Gololo.
According to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase, the governor said he found it strange that Gololo and other leaders of the association had not been invited by security operatives for questioning.
Ortom said it was becoming clear that Miyetti Allah groups had not only assumed the position of the ruling party but also influenced decisions of government.
He observed that in the past Miyetti Allah had made inflammatory statements following the introduction of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law in Benue State.
“The Benue State Government wrote several petitions alerting the country’s security chiefs. Yet, nothing was done and to this day, no Miyetti Allah leader has been invited by security agencies for interrogation.
“Miyetti Allah and the All Progressives Congress now sound like one association with similar objectives. Nigerians should compare the tone of the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, when he threatened that the party would force Senator Saraki out of office if he failed to resign and the latest threat by Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association to forcefully evict Senator Saraki from office. The words are similar, the motive the same and the agenda also one,” Ortom said.
The governor urged Nigerians to reject any attempt to turn the country into a republic where the life of a cow has greater value than that of a human being.
Aldo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the threat as ominous and revealing.
The PDP said President Muhammadu Buhari must within 24 hours, order the arrest and prosecution of Miyetti Allah leaders.
The opposition party stated that MACBAN’s statement echoed the threats by the All Progressives Congress and agents of the Presidency to ensure the impeachment of Saraki.
The PDP said the statement by Miyetti Allah had exposed the synergy between the ruling party and some troublesome elements.
The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, stated these in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday.
He was replying to a statement credited to the National Coordinator of the association in Benue State, Alhaji Garus Gololo, who said the group would force Saraki out of office if he refused to resign.
Ologbondiyan claimed that it was abundantly clear to Nigerians that those fomenting crisis, including the bloody clashes in Benue, Taraba, Zamfara, Nasarawa, Plateau, Kaduna, Edo, Borno, Yobe, Enugu, Kogi, Adamawa and other states had political backers.
He said, “Before now, to majority of Nigerians, the Miyetti Allah has always represented the military wing of the APC and the Buhari Presidency. It is incontrovertible that they have now become the fourth arm of government that can determine when and how to forcefully remove the number three citizen, the President of the Senate.
“It is common knowledge that Mr President has come under heavy public criticisms on how his body language has condoned the unguarded utterances and actions of these characters.
“However, in the light of these treasonable and inciting utterances by Miyetti Allah, we demand that President Muhammadu Buhari should within the next 24 hours order the arrest and commence immediate trial of the leadership of this group; otherwise Nigerians will henceforth hold him directly responsible for the utterances and actions of the Miyetti Allah.
“The PDP is aware that Miyetti Allah does not represent the views and interests of the vast majority of cattle breeders or even any ethnic group in the country.”
