In a statement signed by MACBAN National President, Baba Othman Ngelzarma, on Friday, the group said it “carefully reviewed” the May 8, 2026 update by USCIRF on non-state violent actors in Nigeria, noting that while insecurity remains a major national concern, “millions of law-abiding Fulani citizens” should not be collectively blamed for the actions of “decentralized militant networks and bandit cells”.
The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has issued a response to a recent policy update by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)), insisting that peaceful pastoralists must not be conflated with armed criminal groups operating across parts of Nigeria.
In a statement signed by MACBAN National President, Baba Othman Ngelzarma, on Friday, the group said it “carefully reviewed” the May 8, 2026 update by USCIRF on non-state violent actors in Nigeria, noting that while insecurity remains a major national concern, “millions of law-abiding Fulani citizens” should not be collectively blamed for the actions of “decentralized militant networks and bandit cells”.
The group condemned all forms of violence, including attacks on farming and herding communities, describing such incidents as “heinous” and “a supreme evil” regardless of the perpetrators’ background.
