The Chairman, Southeast Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, Dr. Cosmas Ilechukwu, has, in strong terms, rejected the concept of establishing cattl
The Chairman, Southeast Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, Dr. Cosmas Ilechukwu, has, in strong terms, rejected the concept of establishing cattle colonies in Nigeria. Ilechukwu, the former Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Imo State chapter and General Overseer of the Charismatic Renewal Ministries International, who spoke for PFN and CAN, added that cattle belonged to individuals and not the entire nation.
“It will be a gross abuse of office to take over people’s landed property and give to a group of others for their private business,” he said.
This is the high point of a 12-line communiqué signed by Ilechukwu and issued at the end of the CRM Annual Leaders’ Retreat held in Owerri, on Sunday. The communiqué, which aligned itself with the position of CAN, nevertheless stated its support for the anti-open grazing bill of the Benue State Government and urged other states to adopt same.
Similarly, it advised all cattle owners to adopt ranching, which it said is a standard practice globally. It, however, condemned what it described as genocidal and ethnic cleansing attacks” on several villages in Benue, Kaduna, Adamawa and Taraba states.
Categorically, the communiqué stated that the barbaric killings in Benue State, among others, were carried out by well-trained Fulani militia, armed with sophisticated weapons, with Christians as their primary target. It said, “They are not herdsmen. The herdsmen we have known over the years do not carry sophisticated guns.”
