The Bauchi State branch of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has threatened to stop its members from selling and supplying cattle to the South if the planned eviction of the Fulani herders by some governors comes into effect.

MACBAN also threatened to drag the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, to court if he fails to withdraw statements he made labelling Fulani herders.

The Bauchi Chairman of MACBAN, Abubakar Sadiq, at a press conference in Bauchi, told reporters that, “Unless he immediately withdraws his statement, we will be left with no option other than legal means to clear the name of Fulani as an ethnic group.”

He said the persecution being faced by Fulani herders started with Benue’s anti-open grazing law.

He explained that, “Although the law did not succeed, but it has created problems for the herders,” adding that, “People must be fair to the Fulani race; they should not be branded as criminals. Government at all levels should create a conducive atmosphere for the Fulani and others to do their legitimate businesses without molestation and castigation. We are all Nigerians and must be treated equally as such.”

It would be recalled that Governors Bala Mohammed and Samuel Ortom of Bauchi and Benue States respectively had been trading words over the right of herdsmen to carry AK-47 rifles.

While Bala said herders carried AK-47 to protect themselves, Ortom challenged his Bauchi counterpart for backing an “illegal” action.