10
May
May
MIYETTI ALLAH DISMISSES CLAIMS OF FOREIGN HERDERS BEHIND PLATEAU, BENUE CRISES
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CapitalTimesNews / 1 month
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The National Secretary of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore Fulani Socio-cultural Association, Saleh Alhassan, has claimed that politicians are the real cause of the crisis in Plateau State, not herders. He made the claim during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, where he spoke about national security and the farmer-herder conflict. Alhassan dismissed the Defence Headquarters’ comments that foreign herders were behind attacks in Plateau, Benue, and other parts of the country, calling it “misleading” and “politically motivated.” “The notion and narrative of foreign herders is a distraction. It is a continuation of efforts to deny Nigerian herders their citizenship and a major challenge to achieving peace, especially concerning the farmers-herders conflict,” he said. On the Plateau crisis, Alhassan stated, “I schooled and grew up in Plateau, so I know the root causes of these crises. The recent conflict in Bokkos, for instance, started over a motorcycle theft, not grazing or land use. But suddenly, every conflict is labelled a farmer-herder clash.” He also accused Governor Caleb Mutfwang of knowing the conflict is political, saying, “There is a clear agenda to expel herders from Plateau State. His political godfather, former Governor Jonah Jang, has been a driver of that narrative, and it has been renewed again.” Alhassan further stated, “Peaceful herders have no business with banditry. But when governors abandon conventional law enforcement and empower ethnic militias, injustices are committed against herders. In such a setting, herders resort to self-help.” He added that the association keeps a register of herders, but their nomadic lifestyle makes it hard to track them. To resolve the issue, Alhassan suggested the integration of livestock across the country. “There are no foreign herders in North Central Nigeria. What exists in some border communities are bandits and criminals, not genuine herders,” he said, accusing authorities of ignoring the suffering of herders. The comments come amid renewed violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, including recent attacks in Bokkos and Bassa LGAs in Plateau State, which claimed over 100 lives in April 2025.