A statement credited to Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to Mr president, published by Thenigerialawyer (TNL) May 7, 2019 (https://thenigerialawyer.com/presidency-says-miyetti-allah-is-like-afenifere-and-ohanaeze-denies-offering-n100bn/) is to the effect that Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria is just like Afenifere And Ohanaeze Ndigbo. Shehu said:
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/ELLAN.png")
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2026-Summer-IDRI-Masterclass.jpg")
“The Miyetti Allah group is like Ohanaeze and Afenifere. It is a socio-cultural group. There are criminals within the Yoruba race and you cannot say because of that, Afenifere is a group of criminals.”
Perhaps what triggered Garba Shehu is the fact that all the associations in question represent the interest of their members. Whatever is the reason, the statement sparked mixed reactions across the country.
Ohanaeze and Afinere have long distanced themselves from Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association. Ohanaeze, through its spokesman, Uche Achi-Okpaga said:
“These people are invading villages, killing people, and you are telling us that they are on the same page with Ohanaeze. There is no justification for that.
“This is an organisation that the Global Terrorist Index has described as the world’s fourth deadly terrorist organisation.
“Where is the money the government has agreed to give them coming from? From which sub-head will it come? Does the President have the power to just give out money to any organisation that comes to negotiate with him?
“These people are just negotiating with criminals. We are in a state of lawlessness.”
On its part, the Afenifere socio-cultural group berated Shehu for the categorisation which it described as unfortunate and unfair. The group’s spokesman, Yinka Odumakin, said:
“We are surprised that the spokesperson (Shehu) was talking like someone under the influence of drugs. In Afenifere, we don’t kill, we don’t abduct people. How can you compare us to a group of people who have been killing in Enugu, Benue, Ogun and other states?
“Why did the government meet Miyetti Allah as part of plans to stop banditry and kidnapping in the country? Why didn’t they meet Afenifere? We reject that categorisation. For anyone to compare us to a group of Fulani herdsmen which had been described by the global terror index as the fourth deadliest terrorist group in the world is most unfair and very unfortunate.”
It is quite intriguing that both Ohanaeze and Afinere rejected the comparison with Miyetti Allah on common ground, that is, criminal tendencies. Such is not the first time anyways. Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria has been subject of a lot of controversies for long. Some statements and actions credited to them has been portraying them in bad light. They talk recklessly. Overtime the group has bee alleged to be behind some major herdsmen violence in the country, including the notorious Agatu /Fulani clash that lasted for about three years and claimed more than 6,000 lives in Benue state, the recent killings in Plateau state (June, 2018) where 11 communities were attacked by the herdsmen killing more than 200 lives were lost, and other minor attacks often reported as terrorism.
It should be noted that according to Wikipedia (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herder%E2%80%93farmer_conflicts_in_Nigeria retrieved 9th of May, 2019), Global Terrorism Index discloses that Fulani militants were the fourth deadliest terrorist group in 2014, using machine guns and attacks on villages to assault and intimidate farmers. After killing around 80 people in total from 2010 to 2013, they killed 1,229 in 2014. Most deaths occurred in the Nigerian Middle Belt, in particular in the states of Benue, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau and Taraba, which recorded 847 deaths. The state of Zamfara, in the northern belt, recorded 229 deaths. In addition to terrorist attacks, Fulani militants were also involved in non-state armed conflicts with groups from Eggon, Jukun and Tiv farming communities. These conflicts resulted in over 800 deaths by 2015. The year 2016 saw further incidents in Agatu, Benue and Nimbo, Enugu State. according to the 2018 Global Terrorism Index, nearly 1,700 violent deaths have been attributed to Fulani herdsmen in attacks carried out between January and September 2018 (https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/fulani-herdsmen-killed-nearly-1700-people-in-2018-says-global-terrorism-index-report/68gz6t2 retrieved on 9th of May, 2019) etc. But in all these situations, the only thing Miyetti Allah seems to have been doing is justification for the killings. Example Alhaji Bello Abdullahi Bodejo, the leader of groups, claims that most of the attacks attributed to the Fulani herdsmen are actually carried out by “terrorists” who have infiltrated the Fulani to carry out violence (Leadership, April 25, 2014). The association has also explained that many of the clashes between herdsmen and farmers were caused by the encroachment of the latter on traditional cattle routes (Daily Sun, April 18, 2014). The Chairman, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association in Plateau State, Alhaji Mohammed Nuru Abdullahi defended the activities of the herders:
“Fulani herdsmen do not have any security backup because they are in the rural areas where the security operatives may not be able to access. Now cattle rustling and killing of Fulani have become a lucrative business. Therefore, Fulani herdsmen will do everything possible to protect their lives and property since government has failed to do so. The Fulani use the AK47 for defence since the government has failed to protect them” (The Punch, May 8, 2016).
They further said that that the June 2018 killing of over 200 Nigerians in Plateau (put at 86 by Police) was “retaliatory,” as “Fulani herdsmen have lost about 300 cows in the last few weeks” to youths in affected areas. They also threatened to remove Senator Bukola Saraki should the senate president fail to resign from office.
The foregoing is not far from the reasons why a lot of people, organizations, groups across the length and breath of the country have been calling on the federal government to declare Miyetti Allah a terrorist group. Internet is replete with those calls. For example Politicians, traditional rulers and other stakeholders from the South South, South West, Middle Belt and South East, urged the Federal Government to declare Miyetti Allah a terrorist organisation. (https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/01/declare-miyetti-allah-terrorist-group-southern-m-belt-leaders/ retrieved on the 9th of May, 2019)
It may therefore not be surprising that Ohanaeze and Afinere were quick to reject the comparison between themselves and the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association. The article does not intend to in any way indict Miyetti Allah, rather, it is meant to call the association to look inwards and take steps to remove the negative impression some people have about them.
TheNigeriaLawyer Editorial
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