Displaced Fulani herdsmen are becoming bandits — Miyetti Allah

One of the umbrella bodies of herdsmen in Nigeria, the says

Fulani herdsmen are facing many challenges from hostile host committees including vigilante groups and other criminal elements who steal cows in the country.

These challenges have turned some of these herdsmen into bandits who now terrorise Nigeria.

The claim was made by Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, an umbrella body for herdsmen in the country.

The group said some displaced herders who were dispossessed of their cows end up becoming bandits carrying out several attacks including kidnapping on Nigerians.

Spokesman for the group, Saleh Alhassan, spoke on Wednesday while featuring in a Punch online interview programme, The Roundtable.

Alhassan said it was unfair to label every herder as a criminal, adding that it was sad that herders have been singled out for victimisation.

He said the herders now turned bandits were fighting an economic fight and not an ideological fight.

The spokesman said states banning open grazing and chasing out herders from their domains are creating a huge crisis they are yet to realise.