On Wednesday, May 31, suspected terrorists were arrested at the Yegueré cattle market in Bobo-Dioulasso. After investigations, the latter will be released a few days later. This Wednesday, June 07, 2023, the latter spoke to the press from Bobo-Dioulasso.
Four in number, they were apprehended and then handed over to the defense and security forces at the Yegueré cattle park. They were accused of terrorist acts and possession of weapons according to Yaya Barry, representative of the Peul chieftaincy of Bobo-Dioulasso. “We learned on social media and through parents who came to the chiefdom to report that our brothers were arrested and charged with terrorism. Immediately, the chiefdom instructed us to try to understand, because they were accused of terrorism. After the investigations nothing proved that they are terrorists, because they really are not. They are just shepherds who drove their cattle to the stockyard,” will he explain. He goes on to say that his wish is that people stop stigmatizing a community, accusing without proof.
Amidou Diallo, one of the accused recounts his misadventure
“That day, I was at the stockyard in the morning. And when I moved, once arrived at the level of the tar, a man stops me and removes the key of my motorcycle. And immediately a second one arrived and this one was armed. And the other was telling him to shoot me. It was right after that that I started getting beaten up, in addition to being tied up hand and foot. I was searched and my money (80,000 CFA francs) was taken away. When I was being beaten, that’s when a policeman came and asked them what was going on and they said I was a jihadist.
The policeman asked them again if that’s how you arrest a jihadist. It was after that, I noticed that in more than months, three other people were also arrested for the same reasons. It was following this that we were taken to the police for investigations and I was released on Saturday of the same week, that is to say on June 03, 2023. The others were released on Tuesday 06 June 2023. What I have to say, I have never seen a terrorist, I am not a terrorist”.
According to Amidou Tall, father of the other three victims, “without the security forces we would kill them”.
“My children were arrested with my 33 oxen. Thanks to God and to the security forces, everything went well because without them, they were going to be killed. After investigation, nothing proved that they were terrorists and the oxen were found. They were humiliated and beaten, we want justice done according to the laws of this country. Because accusing a person of terrorism is a real shame for him,” he laments.
Aymeric THIS
