Miyetti Allah not a terrorists organization - Sultan of Sokoto, plus Osinbajo, 9 governors form committee on herdsmen killings

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Mohammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has said the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria has no control over any Fulani man.

The Sultan who made the statement at the general assembly of interfaith dialogue forum for Peace, (IDFP) on Thursday, January 18, in Abuja, said the group was formed over 32 years to cater for welfare and advance the growth of Fulani business.

He stated that any Fulani man carrying arms and ammunition is not a member of Miyetti Allah, insisting that the organisation which is now under his leadership as Grand Patron was never a criminal group, Vanguard reports.

Sultan asked: “How is it possible for Fulani to attack settlements or communities to carry out killings of innocent people, destroy property and disappear without trace? "

Abubakar challenged those calling for proscription of the Miyetti Allah to as well call for proscription of other socio-ethnic organisations like the Afenifere, Ohanaeze ndi Igbo and Arewa Consultative Forum, among others.

He said: “Miyetti Allah doesn’t control any Fulani man. Calling for proscription of Miyetti Allah is equivalent to calling for the proscription of other ethnic organisations like Afenifere, ACF, Ohanaeze and others

“It was formed 32 years ago and these crises were not there. I am the patron and we have never asked Fulani herdsman to kill anybody.

“Any Fulani man caught killing is a criminal and should be treated as such. What are the security agencies doing? If they have failed, they should accept that they have failed.

“What is going on is not an ethnic problem; it’s not a religious problem. It’s an economic problem.”

The revered monarch who advocated for dialogue as a way to the crisis urged people to mind their utterances, warning that utterances carry weight.

He insisted that the Miyetti Allah was not a terrorist group.

Meanwhile, vice-president Yemi Osibanjo is a presidential committee which consists of nine state governors saddled  with the responsibility of ending the herdsmen’s killings being witnessed in parts of the country.

Punch reports that this was one of the decisions reached at a meeting of the National Economic Council held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Thursday, January 18.

NAIJ.com gathered that the Kano state Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of the meeting presided over Osinbajo. Ganduje named members of the committee to include governors of Kaduna, Zamfara, Taraba, Benue, Adamawa, Edo, Plateau, Oyo, and Ebonyi states.

The governor said the committee would collaborate with the federal government in addressing impunity regarding killings and violence.