BY Femi Owolabi
The Movement Against Fulani Occupation (MAFO) has called on the federal of Nigeria to declare Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) a terrorist organisation.
At a press conference in Makurdi, Benue state capital, the group accused MACBAN officials of boasting about the killings and further plans of invading Benue state.
“The federal government should declare Miyetti Allah as a terrorist organization forthwith,” Sam Aba, the group spokesperson, read from a statement.
The group also called on the federal government to arrest and prosecute leaders of MACBAN who have “owned up to the Benue killings”.
It also urged the federal government to search and flush out all the gangs that are openly roaming across Benue.
“All this while, as the officials of Miyetti Allah boasted about their past killings and announced plans of further invasion of Benue state, no arrest have been made of their spokesperson. The murderers and the intending murderers and their sponsors are roaming free as if governance has finally died in Nigeria and we are now in a state of anarchy,” he said.
“It is not known to Nigerian laws that a man can go about killing and destroying simply because he suspects that a community stole his cows or killed his relatives. If other Nigerians adopted the same approach in seeking redress then of course there will be no country. Therefore, the sustained actions of Miyetti Allah amounts to a coup against constituted authority in Nigeria and must be treated as such.”
Garus Gololo, the national coordinator of MACBAN, Benue state chapter, however said his group only breeds cow and they are no terrorists.
“Why should we be declared as terrorists?” Gololo asked when contacted by TheCable.
“There is no good leader that will cause fight in his community because no one knows where such fight ends. On our side, we don’t have terrorists, we only have cattle breeders and nobody is sponsoring us to fight.
“Fulanis are not fighting for the creation of a state, they have not seized any place and make it their country, so why should they be declared as terrorists? Our directive in Miyetti Allah is that if you see any Fulani herder with weapons, catch that person, such is not our member. We don’t instigate anybody to carry weapon.”
Gololo said declaring cattle breeders terrorist is not the way forward but dialogue.
Earlier, the national body of MACBAN had said the current situation is fuelled by the draconian law put in place by some state governments with the singular aim of chasing their people out of the state because of hatred.
Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue state, had signed the open grazing prohibition law.
On the first day of the year, villages in Guma and Logo local government areas of the state were attacked by suspected herdsmen.
On January, 11, the state government conducted a mass burial for over 70 people killed in the attacks.
The 2015 global terrorism index (GTI) had rated herdsmen fourth deadliest terror group in the world.
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