The National President of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Baba Othman-Ngelzarma, has said Fulani pastoralists are not criminals, adding that they are major victims of banditry and insecurity in the country.
Othman-Ngelzarma stated this in response to a comment by a Plateau State-based cleric and President of EL-Buba Outreach Ministries International, Prophet Isa El-Buba, who accused Miyetti Allah of being complicit in ravaging insecurity.
El-Buba had alleged, “Miyetti Allah Association, 80 per cent of the genocide is on you. You have the 80 per cent answers because if today Miyetti Allah says this genocide will stop, it will stop. It is not herders and farmers clash. It is intentional genocide and terrorism and it must stop.”
The cleric further stated that Fulani people were being overrepresented in violent conflicts, saying, “I am not happy to move as a Fulani man and my tribe is being profiled. Fulani Osun, Fulani Ekiti, Fulani Sokoto, Fulani Katsina, Fulani Kaduna, Fulani Plateau, Fulani Benue, Fulani Taraba. Are you the only tribe in Nigeria? There is nothing like profiling people.
“Until justice is done, there will never be a solution. If you get a Fulani man that is a killer, deal with him as a killer. But you don’t give certain people an advantage over other tribes.”
Reacting in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, the MACBAN President rejected the cleric’s claims, insisting that Miyetti Allah neither promoted nor protected criminality.
According to him, Fulani pastoralists remain the most vulnerable group because they lived in forests with their families and depended solely on cattle for survival, making them easy targets for bandits, rustlers, and kidnappers.
“What he doesn’t understand is that Miyetti Allah does not stand for any criminal. We are not a criminal organisation; we hate and condemn criminality. Yes, Fulani youth can be found among criminal groups, but even Fulani people are not spared. Their cows are taken daily by bandits.
“Today, they have become easy targets. They are being killed on a daily basis. Just last week, over 10,000 cows belonging to different families in Sokoto State were swept away by bandits. So, let him understands that pastoralists, who are mostly Fulanis, suffer more than any other people,” he said.
Stressing that security agencies must go after criminals regardless of tribe, the MACBAN leader expressed support for government efforts to curb insecurity, including the creation of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development.
“We also support what he said—that security personnel must go after every criminal, wherever they might be or whichever tribe they belong to. We don’t support any criminal, whether Fulani or not. What we can do is sensitisation, creating awareness, and putting pressure on the government to improve security.
“That is why we agitated for the creation of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, which the government has now given us. We are supporting the ministry so it can come up with approaches to solve the insecurity problem. The ministry must establish systems to settle pastoralists in one place so that this roaming around looking for free pasture can end. Yes, it is a gradual process, but it is important,” Othman-Ngelzarma said.
