The Nasarawa State Police Command has confirmed the killing of 27 herdsmen in an airstrike in Doma Local Government Area of the state.

The command’s spokesperson, DSP Ramhan Nansel, on Thursday, said preliminary investigation revealed that the herdsmen, on Tuesday, went to Benue State to pay fines for the release of cattle impounded by the Benue Livestock Guards implementing the state’s Anti-Open Grazing and Ranching Law.

“While they were loading some of the cows into vehicles on Tuesday night in Kwatiri village, a border community between Benue and Nasarawa, something like a drone or an aircraft hovered in the air and shelled them,” he said.

Nansel stated that the Nasarawa State Commissioner of Police, Maiyaki Mohammed-Baba, had visited the scene of the incident and also attended the burial of the deceased alongside the state deputy governor, Dr Emmanuel Akabe, and some traditional rulers.

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The police spokesperson said an investigation was ongoing to unravel those behind the act, adding that the command has deployed policemen to the area to prevent the breakdown of law and order.

The state governor, Abdullahi Sule, had since condemned the killing, saying he was in touch with his Benue State counterpart.

Sule noted that security agencies have continued their investigations just as he called on the people of the state to remain calm and not take laws into their own hands.

The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) also condemned the killing and called for a full investigation to unravel those behind the incident.

MACBAN, in a statement issued by its National Public Relations Officer, Muhammad Nura, said “this is the third time we are experiencing such happenings”.

Nura stated that apart from the victims, livestock were also killed in the attack.

“MACBAN describes the action as not only condemnable but a war crime under the Geneva Convention that prohibits the wanton killing of livestock.

“We call on the authorities to investigate this terror, punish the culprits, and to be sure that incidents like this will not happen again,” he added.

The Star