Tunde Oyekola
The Kwara State Government says it has buried all confiscated meat from the 33 poisoned cows, whose meat was allegedly put on sale at the Mandate Market, Ilorin, the state capital.
Following the alarm raised over the development by a group known as the ‘Kwara Monitoring Group’ the Kwara State Government promptly moved to seal and fumigate the market, even as it appealed for calm among members of the public.
Findings by Arewa PUNCH showed that the contaminated cow beef was buried around the Kwara State College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies in Ilorin, the state capital.
This follows several measures already put in place by the government to prevent meat sellers and residents from consuming unwholesome meat from contaminated animals said to have been supplied to the market.
The group in an unsigned statement issued on Sunday, April 21, 2024, called the attention of the Commissioners for Environment and Health, and the Kwara Environmental Protection Agency, to take urgent action to prevent the poisonous meat from being sold to the unsuspecting public.
“Over 33 cows were suspected to be poisoned and died immediately but surprisingly, the dead animals were slaughtered and distributed out to butchers to be sold.
“It happened along Atere Road (that leads to Al Hikma campus) right inside the College of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Ilorin.
“It is our prayer that the concerned ministry and agency take appropriate action as nobody knows whose family the poisoned meat could be sold out to in the market,” the group stated.
However, in a swift reaction, the State Government in a statement titled, ‘Kwara govt team arrives Mandate market, confiscates suspected beef’, jointly signed by the Commissioners for Health and Agriculture, Dr Amina El-Imam and Toyosi Thomas Adebayo respectively, revealed that the government team had gone to the said market to confiscate the alleged poisoned meat.
Meanwhile, in a recent development, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs. Funke Sokoya, said the State Government through the collaborative effort of the Ministries of Agriculture, Health, Environment, and the State Environmental Protection Agency, in partnership with other concerned stakeholders, including the Iyaloja of Mandate Market, all agreed to suspend slaughtering activities for three consecutive days beginning from Monday to allow for proper fumigation of the slaughter slabs against any residual effect.
Arewa PUNCH recalls that a group tagged the Kwara Monitoring Group in a statement issued earlier on Sunday, April 21, 2024, and signed by one Dan Musa had called the attention of the Commissioners of Environment, Health and of the Kwara Environmental Protection Agency for an immediate action to prevent the poisoned meat of the dead cows from being sold to unsuspecting public at the various market places.
According to the group, “Over 33 cows were suspected to be poisoned and died immediately but surprisingly, the dead animals were slaughtered and distributed out to butchers to be sold.
“It happened along Atere Road (that leads to the Al Hikma campus) right Inside the College of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Ilorin.
“It is our prayers that the concerned Ministry and Agency take the appropriate and immediate action as nobody knows whose family such poisoned meat would be sold to in the market.”
The government, in a State House statement titled, “Kwara Govt Team Arrives Mandate Market, Confiscates Suspected Beef” which was jointly signed by the state Commissioners of Health and Agriculture, Dr Amina El-Imam and Toyosi Thomas Adebayo, respectively explained that the government team had visited the Mandate Market to confiscate the alleged poisonous cow meat.
The statement read in parts, “The Kwara State Government officials and experts have arrived at the Mandate Market in Ilorin to activate measures to protect the public amid rumours of poisoned cow meat.’’
“On the team were the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Toyosi Thomas-Adebayo; Commissioner for Health Dr Amina Ahmed El-Imam; officials from the Ministry of Environment, including the Executive Secretary of the Kwara State Environmental Protection Agency, Mrs Folorunsho Idayat, and officials from the Ministry of Health, including the Permanent Secretary, Alhaja Afusat Ibrahim, and the Director of Public Health, Dr. Oluwatosin Fakayode, among others.
“The government has immediately confiscated all the suspected meats after laboratory tests and confirmation of claims after initial engagements with the Mandate Market stakeholders in Ilorin the state capital on Sunday morning.”
Meanwhile, a preliminary investigation of the incident shows that the cause of the ugly incident was as a result of grazing on contaminated grasses around the area.
According to the statement, the Ministry of Agriculture promised to intensify its surveillance at the different abattoirs in the state, especially the private and government-owned.
The Director of Veterinary Services, Dr Olugbon Abdullateef Saliman said, “all the private slaughter slabs in the state in the ongoing, will have to reduce their number to the level that the ministry could manage. Any slaughter slab that the meat is not inspected will not be allowed to go out to the market. If the slaughter slab is not following our standard it will be closed down, and those closed down will be directed to the government slaughter slabs.
“Also, any private slaughter slab that is close to the government slab will be directed to go and slaughter at the government slaughter slabs. By this standard, we will be able to monitor what they slaughter and sell to the populace.”
It was reported that the state government on Sunday ordered the temporary shutdown of the abattoir at Mandate Market, in the Ilorin West Local Government Area of the state till Wednesday, following the alleged sale of poisonous cow meat in the market.
The government in a statement by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Dr Abubakar Ayinla also ordered the immediate general cleaning and fumigation of the area harbouring the abattoir so as to cleanse it of the suspected meat poisoning in the facility.
Ayinla, in a statement, explained that the steps were part of efforts to protect members of the public following the alleged sale of poisonous meat.
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