How Fulani herdsmen pay ransom to kidnappers – Cattle breeders association
- The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigerian (MACBAN) has lamented the rate of kidnapping among herdsmen
- The association said herdsmen are also victims of most of the attacks and not just culprits
- The group called on the media to balance its report on the herdsmen/ farmers crisis in Nigeria
The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigerian (MACBAN) has lamented the rate of kidnapping among herdsmen.
The association said in crisis between herdsmen and farmers; the herdsmen are not just culprits but also victims of attacks.
Speaking to Daily Trust on the crisis between the groups, the national secretary of MACBAN Othman Ngelzarma called on the Nigerian media to balance its report of the farmers/herdsmen crisis across Nigeria.
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Ngelzarma said: “Media is not balancing its report; they just jump into conclusion portraying the herders as the culprits. The herder is a victim and culprit at the same time. We are at the receiving end.”
He added that cattle belonging to herdsmen are frequently rustled and the owners kidnapped at various occasion.
“When our cattle are rustled and Fulani herder is kidnapped, our story is not heard because the media is not covering that area," Ngelzarma said.
“Today, kidnappers no longer kidnap Fulani herdsmen. What they do now is get his phone number and call him to go and pay ransom with a threat to kill him if he reports to police.
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“Because he lives in the forest he would just sell two of his cows and pay ransom for him to stay peacefully where ever he stays.
“Before a personality is kidnapped in the town, twenty Fulani herders would have been kidnapped unheard in the forest; we are suffering.
Ngelzarma noted that the crisis between herdsmen and farmer is not religious and widely speculated.
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He said killings between farmers and herdsmen have been ongoing for years.
He said the Southern Kaduna crisis started like every other crisis between the two parties which erupted after a mismanagement of the destruction episode in Godogodo community
“Muslim farmers and Muslim pastoralists fight as well as Katsina State where Fulani farmers and Fulani pastoralists fight," he said.
Ngelzarma also said the cattle breeders association is focused on complimenting efforts of security operatives in the country towards a peace building process.
Source: Legit.ng
