Group Protests Against Illegal Donkey Slaughter, Exploitation by Foreigners

The Coalition of Civil Society Organizations (CCSOs) stormed the streets of Abuja to express displeasure over what they described as the ‘illegal’ slaughter and exploitation of donkeys by foreign nationals in the country.

According to the group, the heinous act has not stopped despite orders by the Federal Government and the National Assembly, therefore urged Nigerians to be vigilant and add their voices to this patriotic call to safeguard Nigeria’s sovereignty and uphold its territorial integrity.

They further explained that donkey slaughter and exportation is no doubt a good economic platform, capable of generating 60 billion naira by a way of direct investment and also capable of getting over 250,000 Nigerians direct and indirect employment, noting that the economic potential of the sector can only be fully harnessed if the sector is well-regulated to serve Nigeria’s best interest.

Specifically speaking during the rally, leaders of the coalition, Barr. Emmanuel Onwudiwe and Comrade (Engr) Ogwuche Emmanuel, disclosed that President Muhammed Buhari had forewarned that foreigners were no longer allowed to hunt in the forest.

“You would recall that Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Grand Commander of the Armed Forces, on the 21st of March, 2022, after a Federal Executive Council Meeting, issued a directive that foreigners are not permitted to directly go into the forest and engage in direct purchase and slaughter of Donkeys. This memorandum was duly forwarded to all the relevant stakeholders in the Agro Business, including the Ministry of Agriculture. Our dear President who has unmistakably good intentions for the growth and development of the federal republic of Nigeria, also inaugurated a committee, under the chairmanship of Suleiman Audu, with a specific mandate of enforcing the ban on foreigners from directly purchasing farm products from farm gates. It is therefore inexcusable that the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Mohamed Mahmood Abubakar, has allegedly continued to give tacit approval to Chinese nationals to go into the forest and deal directly in these businesses against the direct orders of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and in flagrant disregard of our sovereignty. We have pictorial evidence of these Chinese nationals directly and blatantly going into the farm gates to deal directly with these businesses against the directives of the president. This antecedent of aggressive invasion of the sovereignty of independent African countries by foreign interests has informed our decision to alert well-meaning Nigerians on the likely replication of the Angola situation in our country by China, in connivance with some unpatriotic elements in the Buhari administration.”

The CSOs also expressed concern about the quarantine’s continuous use of its platform to secure the release of all arrested Chinese citizens during the implementation of the Presidential directives.

Agro Nigeria