Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria demands apology from Benue State government

PASTORALIST association the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (Macban) has demanded an apology from the Benue State government for linking it with the ongoing murderous attacks against farmers and villages across the state.

Over recent years, Benue State has been on fire as armed Fulani gunmen have launched repeated attacks against rural farming communities, killing hundreds of innocent people. In response, the Benue State government, which has blamed Mabcan for its role in the attacks, has passed an anti-grazing law, restricting herdsmen to enclosed areas.

Yesterday, however, Macban's general secretary, Saleh Alhassan, demanded an apology from the Benue State government for linking the association with the attacks. Speaking on the Channels Television’s breakfast show Sunrise Daily, Mr Alhassan said the recent arrest of the commander of the Benue State Livestock Guards, Aliyu Teshaku, has vindicated the association.

He added: “Today, they have arrested Aliyu Teshaku who is alleged to be the head of the Livestock Guard in Benue who is behind those killings. People that killed the two clergymen and 17 others in the church are being tried in Makurdi and they are all Tiv people and they are all members of the livestock guard working for Governor Ortom.

“So we expect by now there should be an apology from the Benue State government to our association because we have never promoted violence. We have always advocated for a peaceful resolution of the crisis.”

Apart from linking Tiv people to the attack on the Catholic church in Benue State that left two priests and 17 other worshippers dead, Mr Alhassan accused the state government of propaganda against the association. Since January 1, 2018, when suspected herdsmen attacked villages killing 73 persons, Governor Ortom has repeatedly accused Macban of being responsible for the attacks, vowing not to go back on the prohibition against open grazing.

“I have always insisted that Governor Samuel Ortom is on a voyage of propaganda against our association. However, today, if you look at the arrests made in Benue, with respect to the perpetrators of the conflict there, you look at their ethnicity and background and you look at who is employing them, we have been vindicated," Mr Alhassan added.

However, Governor Ortom has rejected claims that the state government armed militia groups had a hand in the attacks. To back its claim, the state government said it had documentary evidence linking Macban to the killings and it engaged the police in a war of words earlier in the year over its failure to act on the evidence.

In April, the Benue State government filed a case against the Macban at a high court in Makurdi, accusing it of murder and widespread violence across 14 out of the 23 local government areas. However, Macban has rejected all allegations against it, insisting it is a peaceful organisation, pointing out that the prohibition of open grazing and subsequent actions by the state government are responsible for the violence.