Miyetti Allah calls for investigation into Kwara Chairman’s killing

The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has called on security agencies to launch a thorough investigation into the killing of its Kwara State Chairman, Idrissu Abubakar.

MACBAN’s National President, Alhaji Baba Ngelzarma, made the appeal in a statement issued by the association’s National Secretary, Malam Bello Gotomo, on Sunday in Abuja.

According to the Kwara State Police Command, Abubakar was shot dead by unidentified gunmen around 10 p.m. on Saturday in front of his residence in Oke Ose, Ilorin East Local Government Area. The command’s spokesperson, SP Toun Ejire-Adeyemi, confirmed the incident, stating that police detectives recovered five expended 7.62mm shells from the scene. His remains have been deposited at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) mortuary.

Reacting to the tragic incident, Ngelzarma condemned the killing, describing the deceased as the association’s youngest state chairman, dedicated to promoting peace and advancing the interests of pastoralists.

“The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) mourns the killing of the Chairman of the Kwara State Chapter, Idrissu Abubakar, by unknown gunmen on Saturday night at his home in Ilorin,” Ngelzarma stated.

He noted that Abubakar, aged 33, is the second MACBAN chairman to be killed in 2024, following the assassination of the newly elected Katsina State chairman, Alhaji Sirajo Mairana, just two months ago.

The MACBAN president described the slain leader as a dedicated advocate for the transformation of livestock production in Nigeria. He revealed that, according to available information, the attackers ambushed Abubakar as he returned home from Tarawee prayers.

Expressing condolences to the deceased’s family, the Kwara State Government, and MACBAN members nationwide, Ngelzarma urged security agencies to intensify efforts to curb the alarming trend of targeted killings against the association’s leaders.

“In the past two years, MACBAN has lost over seven state and local government chairmen to unknown gunmen. Additionally, our National Vice President, Alhaji Manir Lamido, has been missing since 2023 while traveling between Katsina and Kaduna States,” he lamented.

Ngelzarma vowed that the association would do everything possible to ensure that those responsible for these killings are brought to justice.