Bello Matawalle, the Governor of the Zamfara state of Nigeria, announced that in an attempt to encourage bandits to give up a life of crime and adopt a "normal life", bandits will be offered 2 cows for each AK-47 assault rifle they surrender. Mr. Matawalle said that this act will "empower and encourage" people to life a life "free of criminality".
An average cow in northern Nigeria costs about 100,000 naira (About 260 United States dollars) while an AK-47 rifle on the black marker could cost up to 5 times the price of a cow. Cows are valued by the Fulani herder community, who have sometimes been accused of attacks. However, members of the Fulani have repeatedly rejected allegations, saying that they too were victims of crimes.
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