The Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase has said that the number of people said to have been killed during the recent clash between the Agatu people of Benue State and their Fulani counterparts was over exaggerated.
It was reported recently that over 300 people, including children and pregnant women were killed by the Fulani herdsmen and 7,000 others were said to have been displaced.
The Fulani herdsmen claimed the battle was said to have started after 10,000 heads of cattle belonging to the Fulanis were reportedly killed.
Addressing Stakeholders during a visit to Minna, the Niger state capital, the Mr. Arase said “I was around, I travelled to Makurdi, I did not see where 300 people were buried.”
“If you kill, you don’t just bury; you must take the corpse to the Police station before you bury, we don’t have that number of people”. He however did not give the official casualty figure.
Arase said the Police High command had completed arrangements to check the incidence of cattle rustling around the country, adding that the Police would next week start what he called ‘Metro patrol’ designed to arrest cattle rustlers.
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