3 suspected cattle rustlers arrested in Abia

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.