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By Madu Obi
THE leadership of the South East zone of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), insisted yesterday that its members are not kidnappers, but merely herders who look for ideal grazing land for their cattle.
The statement by the South East zonal chairman of MACBAN, Alhaji Gidado Siddiki followed allegation in some quarters that some of the herdsmen are sometimes involved in kidnapping and other vices.
Siddiki said in Awka that because of that impression, some members of the association were wrongly arrested, adding that they have been languishing in prison custody without trial for the past five years.
He said: " We are here for our business, which we are all aware of and that is ranching of cows in the bushes and not for kidnapping.
"Many of our people have been in the prison for more than five years without the government looking into their case files or try them.
"On behalf of MACBAN in the South East, I am appealing to the state government through the Ministry of Justice and the Prison authority in the state, to look into the matter, so that our people that are in the prison custody will either be prosecuted, freed or sentenced according to the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, after trial.
"The association stands on its position that any Fulani herder who is caught in any criminal act in the cause of discharging his legitimate business will be dealt with in accordance with the laws of the association.
"MACBAN, under my watch in the South East, will continue to support the social-economic development of the region."
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