Police Arrest DSLMC Secretary Over Petition By Cattle Owner

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Post created on 10:22 am

 

 

The Headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force in Abuja have arrested one Mr Ikechukwu Ezechi the Secretary to Delta State Livestock Management Committee (DSLMC), in Kwale, Ndokwa West Local Council of Delta State.

Ezechi was arrested after one Alhaji Musa, who rears cattle filed a petition that the community gave him quit notice.

Sources revealed that Ezechi and Musa had been at loggerheads for refusing to leave the Umusam Ogbe community in Kwale, following the continuous destruction of farmlands by cattle.

It was further gathered that the secretary acted based on the anti-open grazing law enacted two years ago to curb incessant cases of farmers/herders’ clashes, to ask Alhaji Musa to cage his cow.

Mr Matthew Ujene, coordinator of DSLMC in Delta North Senatorial District confirmed the report that police officers from Abuja came to arrest their secretary following a petition by Musa.

“We were at the office of Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) in Kwale when Musa called that he was bringing one of his boys that stole a cow. I told him to bring him and that l will tell the Divisional Officer of NSCDC to handle the matter.

“I was inside while the secretary, Ezechi, was outside. Then one Siena drove in and some officers came down from the car and arrested the secretary.

“The officers, who claimed that they were from Force Headquarters, Abuja, entered the civil defence office and started searching everywhere.

“They said they came to arrest me because I was the one mobilising communities to kill cows, and inciting the Umusam community to ask Musa to move his cows away from the community.

“But, there are herders who had agreed to either pay compensation for farmlands destroyed in Umusam or leave the community if they were unable to pay. Instead, he brought the police officers to scatter these arrangements.

“They alleged that l am using the anti-open grazing law to intimidate them, but now they are bringing police from Abuja to intimidate us,” Ujene said.

Speaking further, Secretary of Umusam Ogbe Community Development Committee, Mr George Enubuzor, said they have invited Musa on several occasions for a peace talk but he failed to honour those invitations.

Enubuzor then said the community had an agreement with Musa to leave the community since he could not control his cattle but he returned to plead with them at a meeting in Okpala-Uku’s palace, only for him to return with police to arrest their  secretary.

Confirming the arrest of Ezechi, spokesperson of Delta State Police Command, Bright Edafe, said the arrest was made by police officers from Force Headquarters in Abuja.

[Guardian/SA]