MACBAN supports ‘criminal treatment’ for illegal gun possession

Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria MACBAN, southeast zone, says it supports treating any herder or other Nigerian found illegally possessing an AK47 as a criminal.

Chairman of the group Gidago Sidikki said this on Thursday while reacting to the statement credited to Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State, ordering the traditional rulers, vigilantes, police, and other security agencies to treat any herder found in possession of AK47 as armed robbers.

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“The  governor’s order is in line with the already established agreement between the southeast governors and the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, that any herder or others found in possession of a gun should be treated as criminal,” he said.

“My members have been having a good relationship with their host communities, in spite of some isolated cases of misunderstanding, which is normal in every human existence.

“Our interest in the zone was purely economic, and no herder is interested in contesting the ownership of land with members of their host communities. We expect the host communities to see us as brothers, who come to do business in their area,” he said.

Speaking on the food blockade, Sidikki, disclosed that the Amalgamated Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers Association of Nigeria is behind the blockade and not Miyetti Allah Associations, as being speculated.

According to him, the Amalgamated Association had earlier written a letter to inform of a protest against incessant killings and destruction of its members’ properties in various parts of the country.

“The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, as a body has no hand in the blockade of foodstuff from North to Southern Nigeria,” he stated.