Taraba herders: We’ll expose criminals among us — even if they’re our children

Taraba herders have expressed their commitment to “expose” the criminals among them within the next five months.

The herders comprised Ardos and Fulani community leaders from 14 out of the 16 LGAs of Taraba.

They met with Abbas Tafida, the Emir of Muri, on Monday at his palace in Jalingo.

According to the herders, the decision was reached following a series of meetings held to review the challenges confronting them.

The herders were led by Sahabi Mahmud, chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) in the state.

NAN reports that the pledge made by the herders was contained in a communique issued after a stakeholders’ meeting.

The communique read in part: “Those who repent would be documented, while those that refused to repent and stop kidnapping and other crimes would equally be handed over to security agents to face the appropriate laws of the land.

“We have agreed not to harbour criminals even if they are our biological children and we have sworn to an oath to expose their sponsors no matter their standing in the society.”

The herders added that it is important to restore their damaged image caused by the criminal activities of a few of them.

In his response, the Emir of Muri lamented that the image of the Fulani was endangered by criminal activities.

“As you know the Fulani have continued to be proud of the scholarship of leaders like Shehu Usman Danfodio and Sultan Muhammadu Bello who reformed and spread Islam and ensured justice for all in northern Nigeria but the integrity of the Fulani as moulded by these past leaders was fast fading away because of the activities of the criminal elements,” the emir said.

He commended the leadership of the Fulani for taking the step to weed out criminals among them and directed that a list of those that repented and those that refused to repent be submitted to him.