About 500 cattle at Kasuwar Daji market in Kaura Nomoda Local Government Area of Zamfara state have been rustled by bandits.
Comrade Aminu Garba, the state chairman of the Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, explained that the incident was not the first of its kind, saying that a similar attack occurred about four years ago.
According to him, nobody expected this to happen, stressing that they experienced a similar unfortunate incident about four years ago.
The chairman further explained that the bandits were suspected to have infiltrated the market and surrounding villages during the daytime, where they monitored activities and transactions involving livestock buyers.
Aminu said, “The rustled animals were purchased from multiple markets, including cattle brought in from the Niger Republic, and were assembled at Kasuwar Daji being the largest animal market in the area.”
He explained that they normally purchase animals every Wednesday up to Kasuwar Daji market day before boarding trucks to Lagos, pointing out that the bandits rustled the cattle and fled towards the western part of Kasuwar Daji village.
He explained that the bandits were many and carried sophisticated weapons, stressing that they operated at night and later moved towards the western part of the market because that area leads into the forest, and the market is not fenced.
One of the victims, Alhaji Sani Yaba Ajiyan Fawa, estimated the number of the attackers to be more than 100, saying that the rustled animals belonged to livestock breeders popularly known as ‘Yantugu’ in Hausa.
He added that about 60 animals out of the total number were later recovered, admitting that it is very difficult to control large animals in such a chaotic situation, but the ones that were returned were those that scattered during the operation.
Comrade Aminu Garba, however, attributed the incident to what he described as a lack of awareness among market guards, who failed to promptly alert security agencies.
He added that the people taking care of the cattle are not sufficiently exposed to seek timely intervention from security personnel, saying that the rustled animals belonged to multiple owners, while some cattle were jointly owned.
The police spokesperson in the state could not be reached to comment on the incident.
