The Chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) in Benue State, Ardo Muhammad, has alleged that the suspects arrested in Okpokwu Local Government Area of the state recently were travellers.

The MACBAN chairman stated this in a statement issued on Tuesday and made available to journalists in Makurdi.

According to him, the four Fulani men were travelling from Benue State to Onitsha to visit their relatives before they were ambushed.

It will be recalled that youths in the area were reported to have foiled a kidnap attempt in the area last Wednesday and rescued five victims.

A day after, three suspects were reported to have been arrested and handed over to the police, while one escaped.

The Chairman of Okpokwu Local Government Area, Adah Inalegwu, who confirmed the incident, said that the kidnappers abandoned their five victims when vigilante youths gave them hot pursuit.

Inalegwu, however, said that the three suspects were arrested the following day and added that they were yet to be confirmed by security operatives as being responsible for the Wednesday crime.

“They are strangers in the community. It has not yet been confirmed if they were kidnappers but they have been handed over to the police,” the chairman said.

But the MACBAN chairman, in his statement on Tuesday, said that the people arrested were travellers going to meet their families in Onitsha.

He said: “The four Fulani men arrested were travellers going from Benue State to Onitsha to visit their relatives, one of them managed to escape.”

The other three were severely beaten. One of them later died from his injuries at the scene, while the remaining two are currently receiving medical treatment.

He called on security agencies to act swiftly to arrest the perpetrators and ensure justice is served so as to restore order and rebuild confidence in the area.

He denied the report that the men were kidnappers, saying that the people were attacked solely because of their identity as Fulani while travelling peacefully. (Nigerian Tribune)

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