“Tension in Kwara: Miyetti Allah Urges Investigation into Chairman’s Killing”

The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has called on security agencies to investigate the killing of Idrissu Abubakar, the Chairman of the association’s Kwara chapter. This appeal was made by the National President of MACBAN, Alhaji Baba Ngelzarma, in a statement issued by the association’s National Secretary, Malam Bello Gotomo, on Sunday in Abuja.

The Police Command in Kwara confirmed Abubakar’s death, as reported in a statement by the command’s spokesperson, SP Toun Ejire-Adeyemi. According to the report, Abubakar was shot dead by unidentified gunmen at approximately 10 p.m. on Saturday, just outside his home in Oke Ose, Ilorin East Local Government Area.

Ejire-Adeyemi stated that police detectives responded quickly to the scene and recovered five expended 7.62mm shell casings. His remains have been sent to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) mortuary.

In response to the tragic event, the MACBAN President condemned the murder of the association’s youngest state chairman, who was dedicated to promoting peace and advancing the interests of pastoralists in Nigeria. “The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) mourns the killing of the Chairman of the Kwara State Chapter, Idrissu Abubakar, by unknown gunmen on Saturday night at his home in Ilorin.

“Idrissu, who was 33 years old, is the second MACBAN Chairman to be killed this year, following the murder of Alhaji Sirajo Mairana, the newly elected Chairman of the Katsina State chapter, just two months earlier. The deceased is survived by two wives, six young children, and his aged mother,” the president stated.

Ngelzarma described Abubakar as a dedicated member of MACBAN who was looking forward to transforming the livestock production system in Nigeria. He indicated that the association has gathered information suggesting that the assailants shot Idrissu outside his home after he returned from Tarawee prayers (the evening prayer during Ramadan).

The president extended his condolences to the family of the deceased, the Kwara State Government, and all members of the association nationwide. He urged security agencies to thoroughly investigate this ongoing violence against leaders of the association. He noted that over the past two years, MACBAN has lost more than seven State and Local Government Chairmen to attacks by unknown gunmen. Additionally, the National Vice President of MACBAN, Alhaji Manir Lamido, has been missing without a trace since 2023 while traveling between Katsina and Kaduna States.

Ngelzarma assured that the association would take all necessary measures to uncover those responsible for this “dastardly act of cowardice.”