Worried by persistent cattle rustling and its deadly consequences in Plateau  State the Special Task Force (STF) has proposed the establishment of permanent cattle ranches to check the problem.
“We have proposed the establishment of ranches or stables so as to have the cattle in one place during the night to provide security for them,’’ STF Commander, Maj.-Gen. Henry Ayoola, said in Jos.
“Once we can secure the animals in the night, the cow thieves can only steal in the day time and that is certainly not easy,’’ he said.
He said that Fulani leaders had, however, complained that such method might not be easy since they did not stay in one place, explaining that it was an option that was worth pursuing to safeguard the animals against thieves.
The commander said that the STF was particularly concerned over cattle rustling because it was a peculiar kind of stealing “with heavy security implications’’ as the herdsmen see the cows as their lives.
For the herdsmen, once you steal a cow, they feel you are killing them and will seek to kill you as well. In fact, they kill two persons for each cow stolen.’’
Ayoola described the situation as serious as the cattle rustlers were usually “heavily armed’’ during operations and would shoot anyone who ventured to stand on their way.
We have always recovered at least 75 per cent of cows rustled but our ability to apprehend the thieves is usually slowed down by the fact that we do not get to hear of the incidents on time.
Many herdsmen are usually young elements who hardly call; by the time they reach their guardians, the thieves would have escaped. This affects our ability to track down the thieves.
Again, the cow thieves follow unpredictable routes because the known routes are usually blocked by our men and that is why we need to work with locals because they know the terrain much better.
According to him, STF operatives have often abandoned their vehicles and either trekked or used motorcycles to pursue the cow thieves.
He said that the STF had so far, arrested more than 20 suspected cow thieves, three of whom had been convicted while the rest were still being prosecuted.
Ayoola advised herdsmen against killing people over the stealing of cows, wondering why human lives should be equated with that of animals.
By killing people, you will not bring back the stolen cows, so there is no need for that. Human life should be dignified because it is sacrosanct and nothing should justify taking it.
Ayoola said that the STF had already established symbiotic links to network with herdsmen, local vigilance groups, youth teams, community leaders and experts on cow rusting matters toward in a bid to curb the problem.
He said that the STF had also stationed its men in markets to check cattle meant for sale to discourage cow thieves from the activity as there would be no place to dispose their loots.
The commander, who revealed that cow rustlers were found among herdsmen and their host communities, said that youths in affected areas were being encouraged to form “Civilian STF’’ to fish out criminal elements among them.
We have told them to emulate the example of the ‘Civilian JTF’ that had been able to restore order in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, after forming groups to fish out members of Boko Haram.
We think this option is very important because the thieves live among the people and are usually known by the communities. The communities should not cover them.
“We have also told vigilance groups that their duties should go beyond just protecting their people, they should fish out bad elements that could give the communities bad name.
Ayoola charged the people to take advantage of their vast knowledge of their areas to help the STF to fish out criminals, expressing the readiness of the STF to collaborate with groups seeking to restore order to society.