The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) says it knows nothing about the assassination attempt on Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom on Saturday.
The group’s secretary-general Usman Baba-Ngelzerma told PUNCH on Monday that MACBAN is not a criminal association.
Ortom was attacked on his farm by gunmen at Tyo-mu village along Makurdi-Gboko road. His security details engaged the gunmen in a duel and rescued the governor to safety.
Following the attack, the governor fingered MACBAN as responsible due to his anti-open grazing stance.
But the group’s secretary-general told the newspaper: “First, we have to condemn the attack. Then, secondly, if there was an attack, that must be a criminal activity which must be directed to the security agencies for proper investigation.
“As far as we are concerned, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association has never had meeting anywhere in Adamawa State because I read on social media that there was a meeting in Adamawa State where that arrangement was made. My association did not have any meeting in Adamawa State.
“Our association is not a criminal association, we don’t know anything about any attack anywhere. If there was an attack, let the security agencies find out who attacked him. That is the proper channel to be followed, you don’t politicise criminality. Crime is a crime by whomever. Let the security agencies fish out the perpetrators of the act.”
Meanwhile, a Fulani group called the Fulani Nationality Movement (FUNAM) has claimed responsibility for the attack on the governor.
