Premium Times sacks reporter over false report on Miyetti Allah

Online newspaper, Premium Times, has sacked its Jos-based reporter, Mr. Andrew Ajijah, over a false story credited to the cattle breeders’ association, Miyetti Allah, on the mayhem in Plateau State in which 100 people were killed.

According to a report by News Agency of Nigeria, NAN yesterday, the management of online news platform also has resolved to apologise to the North Central leader of the apex cattle breeders’ organisation, Mr. Danladi Ciroma, over the story published on June 25, with the headline, ‘Killing of nearly 100 people in Plateau ‘retaliatory’ — Miyetti Allah’.

Premium Times had reported that the violence that erupted in 11 villages in some Local Governments was retaliation by the herders whose cattle were killed.

Ajijah in the report quoted Ciroma as saying: “These attacks are retaliatory.

As much as I don’t support the killing of human being, the truth must be told that those who carried out the attacks must be on revenge mission.”

“Fulani herdsmen have lost about 300 cows in the last few weeks – 94 cows were rustled by armed Berom youths in Fan village, another 36 cows were killed by Berom youths. In addition to that, 174 cattle were rustled.”

Miyetti Allah has distanced itself from reports and the insinuations that it justified the killings. Ciroma was reported as saying that the killings were a retaliation of previous acts of deadly aggression against the Fulani residents and pastoralists in the state.