The Nasarawa State chapter of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) says it has adopted traditional method of “oath taking” in tackling cattle rustling, robbery and other criminal acts among its members.
Chairman of the association, Alhaji Mohammed Hussaini, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lafia, on Tuesday.
“We adopted a traditional method to control cattle rustling, robbery and kidnapping involving members, whereby all herdsmen in every community are made to take an oath by eating kolanuts after chanting some incantations and the method is yielding positive results.
“Cattle rustlers, robbers and kidnappers do not fear God, so begging them to stop their evil acts because of God would amount to waste of time and effort, hence the adoption of oath taking.
“We have traditionalists that specialise in administering the oath to members as a way of controlling social vices and criminalities, and the nemesis for violators is almost immediate,“ Hussaini said.
He said the initiative would complement the efforts of conventional security agencies at tackling security challenges involving the union’s members.
The chairman said many members of the association who belonged to criminal gangs and perpetrated various crimes had repented and denounced their membership of such syndicates.
He said the association would not shield criminal elements and promised to expose anyone caught or discovered to be involved in any criminality to the law enforcement agencies.
Meanwhile, the Nasarawa State Chapter of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has setup a Peace and Security Committee comprising more than 2,000 people in the state.
Alhaji Mohammed Hussaini, the chairman of the association, disclosed this in an interview with NAN on Tuesday in Lafia.
According to Hussaini, the committee was to checkmate bad elements among the herdsmen and reports their activities to the leaders of the Fulanis in the state for onward report to the law enforcement agencies.