The Butchers and Cattle Dealers Associations in Borno State have lamented the continuous closure of the Cattle Market (Kasuwan Shanu) and the state abattoir Maiduguri.
While addressing a Press Conference at the Borno state Correspondents Chapel`s Office, the state chairman of the Butchers Association, Alhaji Abubakar Gula said the closure of the market and the abattoir have led to the lost of job of over two million members of the two associations and those earning their living in these places.
He said the military operatives chased them out of the cattle market and abattoir without telling them the reason of their action, only to hear on the radio that their members are involved in buying cattle stolen by Boko Haram, adding that it is the responsibilities of the security agencies to arrest any suspected culprit among them and that they are ready to cooperate with the security agencies in order to fish out the criminal elements among them, if any.
Alhaji Gula said that they are not on strike but the lack of meat was as a result of the closure of cattle market, adding that they have directed all their members not slaughter any animal at home or any unauthorized places, as the safety and health of the general public is their concern.
According to him, it is the responsibility of the security agencies to stop any stolen items from getting to the cattle market, as they have road blocks across the entry to the city, pointing out that the closure of the market and abattoir have deprived over two million of their jobs, as he said in the butchers association they have over 250 registered members in Maiduguri alone plus their displaced members from various local government that join them.
They called on the military authorities, Borno state Government and Shehu of Borno to re-open their places of business in order not to add more hardship to their members, as people are already suffering from the Boko Haram insurgency.
On his part, the vice chairman Cattle dealers Association, Alhaji Yakuba Goni said “our cattle are dying, as the cattle were locked up in the market and there is no way we can feed them, we don’t have food to eat, so the concerned authorities should do something about it.”
He said the military went to the cattle market and start beating and chasing their members out of the market, where they flee without their cattle or belongings, which amounted into the lost of millions of Naira.