KWARA State Government has confiscated some of the beef being sold at the Mandate market, following allegations that they were gotten from cows that died after ingesting poison, whose meat is now being sold to unsuspecting members of the public.
This occurred on Sunday, April 21, following an alarm by the Kwara Monitoring Group (KMG) earlier the same day.
A statement by the government, co-signed by the Commissioner for Health Amina Ahmed El-Imam and Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Toyosi Adebayo-Thomas on Sunday, called for calm while assuring members of the public that efforts were being made to verify the allegations.
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“The government has immediately confiscated all the suspected meats for laboratory tests and confirmation of claims after initial engagements with the Mandate Market stakeholders. Further information will be given as may become necessary.
“The government urges members of the public to be calm while the team establishes the truth of the rumour of poisoned meat. It also commends the leadership of the market for their cooperation so far,” the statement read.
Earlier on Sunday, KMG issued a statement calling on the state government to act quickly and intercept the sale of poisoned beef to the 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 (which leads to the 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 statement read.
Along with El-Imam and Adebayo-Thomas, officials of the state’s Ministries of Environment and Health were also present at the market on Sunday, including the Executive Secretary of the Kwara State Environmental Protection Agency, Mrs Folorunsho Idayat, and the Director of Public Health, Oluwatosin Fakayode, among others.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.