Kwara govt mops up tainted meat, warns consumers
Possible life-threatening diseases may soon break out in Ilorin, Kwara State, following butchers’ sale of 33 poisoned cattle to unsuspecting consumers.
Consequently, the state government led by the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Toyosi Thomas-Adebayo, stormed popular markets, yesterday, mopping up suspected contaminated beef from sales points.
The Guardian gathered that 33 cows suspected to have died of poison were slaughtered and distributed to butchers by their owners to reduce total loss.
When the animals were sighted on Atere road linking Al-Hikma University campus, inside the College of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Ilorin, Kwara Monitoring Group (KMG) immediately pleaded with the Commissioner for Environment, as well as Health and Kwara State Environmental Protection Agency (KWEPA) to take immediate action “to prevent the poisoned cows from being sold to unsuspecting public,” it said.
KMG assured that it would not relent in supporting the state government to sanitise the state.
Meanwhile, the government has warned the public against patronising illegal meat selling points disposing of meat at a cheaper rate.
Confirming the development, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, through the Director of Veterinary Services, Dr Abdullateef Olugbon, said the Ministry had commenced a raid of illegal vet and meat premises in the state to ensure the safety of lives .
Olugbon said: “The government is poised to ensure the safety of the people, especially by ensuring that the meat they consume is safe.”
He warned veterinary centres and meat selling points to adhere strictly to proper hygiene.
Accompanied by the Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina El-Imam, officials from the Ministry of Environment, including the Executive Secretary of KWEPA, Mrs Folorunsho Idayat, and Ministry of Health officials, including the Permanent Secretary, Afusat Ibrahim, and the Director of Public Health, Dr Oluwatosin Fakayode, the agriculture commissioner arrived the Mandate Market in Ilorin to activate measures to protect the public from tainted food.
The government confiscated all suspected meats for laboratory tests and urged the public to be calm while the team establishes the truth of the rumour of poisoned meat.
It also commended the leadership of the market for cooperating with the officials.
