Miyyeti Allah dares southern govs, threatens Ortom with lawsuit

Miyyeti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has threatened to stop its members from supplying cattle to the South should some governors carry out their planned eviction of the Fulani herders.

The Bauchi State branch of the association, which stated this, also threatened to sue the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, if he failed to withdraw statements he made against Fulani herders.

Chairman of MACBAN, Abubakar Sadiq, at a press conference in Bauchi, said, “Unless he immediately withdraws his statement, we will be left with no option other than legal means to clear the name of Fulani as an ethnic group.”

He said the persecution being faced by Fulani herders started with Benue’s anti-open grazing law.

Abubakar also said, “People must be fair to the Fulani race; they should not be branded as criminals. Government at all levels should create a conducive atmosphere for the Fulani and others to do their legitimate business without molestation and castigation. We are all Nigerians and must be treated equally as such.”

Governors Bala Mohammed of Bauchi and Ortom had been trading words over the right of herdsmen to carry AK-47 rifles.

While Bala said herders carried AK-47 to protect themselves, Ortom challenged him for backing an “illegal” action.