Tuesday, July 1, 2025 - The Abia State security outfit, Operation Crush, has apprehended three cattle rustlers in Onhiya community in Umuahia South Local Government Area.
The suspects, Saidu Ali, Yakubu Mohammed and Adamu Isa, were
arrested on Sunday, June 29, 2025 following a tip-off after they attempted to
steal six cows out of thirty eight cows
Briefing newsmen in Umuahia, the Special Adviser to the
state governor on Security Matters, Navy Commander Macdonald Uba (retd.) said,
the arrest was because of the swift action of Operation Crush.
“We have a very strong farmers herders’ committee, who got
the tip-off and forwarded the intelligence to Operation Crush. They swiftly
went and made this arrest, and they have since been profiled by the
Director-General of State Security Services,” he said.
"We all know what would have happened if those cattle were rustled, and the effect it would have had on the Onhiya community and the problems it would have occasioned.
"This is to state that Abia State, under the leadership
of His Excellency Dr. Alex Choma, will yield no ground to criminals, most
especially those that will make life unbearable for the citizens of Abia State.
“If not for the intervention of Operation Crush, the
intention was to rustle the cattle from their fellow Fulani herdsmen. That
would have created the impression that the Onhiya community had rustled the
cattle.
"We will learn a lesson from what has happened to
others. And that is the sequence for which the Abia State security is trying to
take. We will use what has happened to others to learn how to solve such issues
within our state.
Uba said it’s up to the police to make any further arrests
of the intended buyers, though their phones are in custody.
According to him, they have more information that could lead
to the arrest of the Alhajis who were supposed to buy the cattle.
Also speaking, the traditional ruler of the Hausa community
in Abia State, Sarkin Hausawa, HRH Eze Yaro Danladi, regretted the actions of
the rustlers.
“One could imagine what action the owners of the cattle would have had on the Onhiya community,” he said.
According to the rustlers, one of them, who is a herder, had sold the plan to them.
“We planned to take one cattle, but the Fulani owners are
claiming five,” the suspect said.
0 Comments