The Kogi Government on Friday directed the burial of the carcasses of some of the 20 poisoned cows discovered on Wednesday in Lokoja.
The government also directed residents of Lokoja to stay off consumption of beef for seven days so as not to fall victim to some of the poisoned meat allegedly already in the market.
“What the government is able to bury today is a good number of the affected cows and not all of them,” an official said.
The Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Kogi Command, Mr. Suleiman Mafara, spoke with NAN in Lokoja.
“The Agro Rangers Unit of the command alongside the Department of Livestock and Veterinary Services of the Ministry of Agriculture, as well as the Sanitation Board of the Ministry of Environment, have conducted a confirmatory test on the carcasses of the cows.
“The test result showed that the carcasses contained poisonous content and thereby inedible and not fit for human consumption.
“Consequently, the government is advising the residents of Kogi, particularly this within Lokoja, where the incident happened, to avoid consumption of cow meat in the next seven days,” he advised.
Madara quickly assured the public that the men of the command and other security operatives were doing everything possible to calm any form of tension that might arise from the unfortunate development.
He said that the command had sent out surveillance teams who were still maintaining peace in the environment as well as combatant officers in the event of any threat of reprisal attack to put the situation under control.
Also speaking, the Head, Agro Rangers Unit of the NSCDC State Command, Mr. Bayode Emmanuel, said that the Butchers Association in the markets was carried along in the whole process of the investigation and examination of the carcasses to the burial of the cows.
Emmanuel explained that the carcasses of the cows recovered were subjected to the prescribed standard of treatment before they were buried which was witnessed by all the relevant stakeholders.
The Director of Veterinary Services, Kogi Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Salau Tarawa had on Thursday, advised to residents to shun cow meat for at least one week as the 20 cows might have ingested poisonous substances while grazing.
