MACBAN Rejects US Report Linking 30,000 Armed Militants to Fulani Population

The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria has distanced the wider Fulani community from criminal groups operating across the country, insisting that the estimated 30,000 militants and bandits referenced in a recent United States report do not represent Nigeria’s millions of peaceful Fulani citizens.

The reaction followed a report released by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, which claimed that about 30,000 armed Fulani militants were operating across Nigeria in groups ranging from 10 to 1,000 fighters.

The USCIRF report also described the militants as some of the deadliest non-state actors responsible for religious freedom violations and violent attacks in Nigeria.

Responding in a statement on Friday, MACBAN National President Baba Ngelzarma said criminal groups should not be used to stereotype the entire Fulani population, which he estimated at about 14.5 million people nationwide.

“We state categorically that the estimated 30,000 active militants and bandits cited in the USCIRF brief do not, and will never, represent the 14.5 million peaceful Fulani citizens of this country,” the statement read.

Ngelzarma argued that law-abiding pastoralists are themselves major victims of insecurity, including cattle rustling, kidnappings and retaliatory violence carried out by criminal elements.

“As MACBAN has stated in several reports and statements, law-abiding pastoralists are themselves primary victims of these criminal syndicates, routinely suffering from cattle rustling, mass abductions and retaliatory violence,” he added.

The association stressed that it would neither shield nor defend individuals involved in violent crimes.

“MACBAN will not shield, make excuses for, or tolerate any individual or group engaging in violent criminality,” the group stated.

According to the association, its zonal and state branches have been directed to strengthen intelligence-sharing arrangements with security agencies and traditional rulers to help identify and apprehend criminal gangs operating in forests and border communities.

“We are actively directing our zonal and state branches to formalise and deepen closed-door intelligence-sharing channels with federal security forces and local traditional rulers,” the statement added.

The group pledged full cooperation with law enforcement agencies in efforts to flush out criminal networks.

MACBAN also condemned terrorism, banditry and targeted killings across Nigeria, regardless of the ethnic or religious background of those responsible.

The association warned against ethnic profiling and collective stigmatisation of Fulani pastoralists, arguing that such narratives could worsen tensions and undermine national unity.

It further called on the Federal Government and development partners to intensify support for ranching and livestock modernisation initiatives aimed at reducing conflicts associated with open grazing and land disputes.

The debate over insecurity linked to armed herders and bandit groups has remained one of Nigeria’s most sensitive national issues, especially in the Middle Belt and parts of southern Nigeria where attacks on farming communities have triggered widespread displacement and tensions.