Trending 
The National Secretary of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore Fulani socio-cultural association, Engr. Saleh Alhassan, has described the violence against Fulani pastoralists over the past 25 years as the closest thing to genocide in Nigeria.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, Alhassan said pastoralists have been deliberately targeted, killed, displaced, and criminalised in states including Plateau, Benue, Zamfara, and Kebbi.
He criticised ongoing media narratives that portray herders as the main perpetrators of violence.
Alhassan condemned individuals and groups he called “genocide town criers” for seeking international attention and foreign aid, citing a bishop who reported violence in Benue to the United States.
He urged that Nigerian institutions, such as the Senate and the National Human Rights Commission, be engaged instead.
He claimed attacks on pastoralists have intensified in recent weeks, highlighting incidents in Kebbi, Niger, and Benue States, often without response from security agencies or the media.
Alhassan stressed that while some herders may be involved in conflicts, it is incorrect to depict pastoralists as the sole aggressors.
His remarks come amid a rise in insecurity across the region, including mass kidnappings and attacks on schools, churches, and communities in Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Kogi, and Sokoto States, which have left hundreds abducted and several killed.
Alhassan called for a holistic security approach to identify all perpetrators and ensure a balanced understanding of the farmer-herder conflicts.
