Deposed Sarkin Fulani of Igangan; Alhaji Saliu Abdulkadir has refuted claims that he masterminded the recent attack in Igangan community further stating that the security agencies in the state have shown lackadaisical attitude towards apprehending perpetrators of such evil acts and as such should be blamed for the heinous acts.
Alhaji Abdulkadir who spoke in an interview with Daily Trust, criticized the activities, calling them barbaric and cruel, and saying it was incorrect to link the assault on the palace of Asigangan of Igangan, Oba Lasisi Adeoye, to him.
The deposed Sarkin Fulani asserted that the attacks were not limited to Yorubas, stating that many herders were also killed in the attacks. He also claimed that one Fulani man who was neither a cattle herder nor a trader and had lived in Igangan since the 1960s was killed on Monday in a retaliatory attack on several Fulani settlements.
Alhaji Abdulkadir made it clear that he had no involvement in the attacks and that he had no mercenaries on his payroll to attack the civilians on his behalf.
“They killed my people, destroyed my properties, I know nothing about the attacks. If I had the mercenaries, I would have defended myself when my palace was invaded by Sunday Igboho and his men.
“I have lost everything. I have been living from hands to mouth. I don’t have any mercenaries fighting for me. I leave everything in the hand of God.”
Abdulkadir, who is now based in Ilorin, Kwara State, has called on the federal government to take action in the Ibarapa zone crisis, saying that while the state government is doing its portion to restore peace to the zone’s warring communities, the federal government’s support is needed to achieve long-term peace.
