Zamfara spends N83 million on sallah cows

The Zamfara State governor Bello Matawallen has approved N83 million for the purchase of 750 cows to celebrate Eid-El-Fitr.

Idris Gusau, the governor’s spokesman, in a statement said the 750 cows are to be distributed to the less-privileged; Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs; orphans and widows in the state as part of the present administration’s commitments to improve the welfare of the people.

The governor urged the people of the state to use the ongoing Ramadan fast and the coming Eid-El-Fitr Sallah periods to pray for peace, stability and development of the state.

The state has over time been plagued by killings, kidnapping and banditry.

Though there are no official numbers of the number of killings but estimations puts it as more than a thousand deaths.

Bandits storm huts at the dead of night to abduct wives and daughters with the hope that they will be exchanged for cash. On other days they embark on a killing spree.

On Sunday, Matawalle led security agents to bandits’ camps and hideouts near Wonaka town in Gusau Local Government Area of the state.

The governor, accompanied by his deputy Mahadi Aliyu-Gusau, heads of security agencies in the state chased away the bandits from their camps.

Matawalle led the operation on his way to Lilo community for a condolence visit over the killing of 8 persons and injuring of 18 others.

The governor’s spokesman said the bandits abandoned their hideouts across a nearby river and took advantage of the bushes and disappeared in order to escape the gunshot of security operatives who were on the governor’s convoy.