Group gives security agencies 72-hour ultimatum to arrest Miyetti Allah leader

A group of civil society organizations under the aegis of Coalition of Civil Society for Peace and Good Governance has demanded immediate arrest of the leader of Miyette Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Danladi Ciroma, over complicity in the latest killings in Plateau State by herdsmen.

The group, however, lauded the Special Military Taskforce in the state, Operation Safe Haven, for its prompt action in deploying personnel to the crisis scene, a situation it noted, quickly quelled the crisis and minimize the magnitude of destruction of both lives and property.

The civil society group particularly handed down a 72-hour ultimatum to security agencies for the arrest of Alhaji Ciroma, a North Central Chairman of the Fulani cattle rearers Union, following the public admittance of his group’s complicity in the killings which claimed over 80 lives and several properties worth billions of naira.

The President of the Coalition Barr. Gyang Chomo, in a statement, Monday, after undertaking sympathy visit to the victims of the attacks in Gashish District of Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, vowed to drag both the federal and Plateau State governments to court”.

“We want to give the security agencies 72 hours to immediately arrest one Alhaji Danladi Ciroma, the North Central Chairman of Miyette Allah, who has publicly claimed responsibility for the killing of our people.

“If we found that he has not been arrested after the expiration of this notice, we shall commence a profound legal action against the federal and state government,” he said.

Describing the killings as “senseless,” he, however, appealed to the victims not to take laws into their hands through revenge just as he asked them to allow security agencies thoroughly do their work.

“I am, therefore, appealing to our people to remain calm and wait for the security agencies to do their work, “he said.

Chomo appealed to the Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong, to immediately direct the supply of relief materials and food items to the affected people who are in a critical situation.

Reiterating his group commendation on the special military operation, he said:” I strongly commend the special military operation code name Operation Safe Haven, OPSH, for their quick response and professional deployments in the trouble areas of Barkin Ladi, Riyom Jos south and Jos metropolis which led to restoration of order and calm over the killings of 80 innocent people. ”

The statement said earlier, Barrister Chomo had visited the people on a condolence, where he had said to the people:” As you can see, we came in our number to commiserate with you and we are highly pained by these senseless and unprovoked killings of our people including women and children without any form of provocation by Fulani herdsmen.

“We can no longer tolerate this, if not for the quick intervention of Special Task Force OPSH, there would have been no village standing in Berom land today, what’s our offence?

“We thank the STF, however, we appeal to the Commander of Operation Safe Haven to quickly put in place mechanism to check his personnel’s because of any compromise of standard practice.

“If this is the kind of STF we had in the past, I am sure our people would not have lost confidence in them in the past.”

He advised the natives to realize that “the attackers’ mission is two. The first one is to claim our ancestral land while the second one is making Plateau ungovernable if they cannot achieve the first one.”

“We must know this and be wise, they attackers have nothing much to lose. If fire engulfs Plateau State today, they have nothing serious to lose because they have their original homes to run to. This is why we must be careful not to take the law into our hands, “he cautioned.